Team SCRN
by Sai Kunai Blade
Summary: Dante Sparda, Bayonetta, Ryu Hayabusa and Kratos have died and were reborn on Remnant to protect those Salem and her cohorts seek to harm and keep Remnant safe. Can they prevent the tragedies that occured in Volume 3 and indeed save the people they were brought to this planet to protect? Sorry, I'm bad with summaries. Will include some Ryu x Nora, other pairings TBD in the future.
1. Prologue I: Dante Schnee

A deity of pure light who looked over all universes watched the events of the Vytal Festival on Remnant, as well as the ending of the lives of 4 heroes it had grown quite fond of over the years and found itself unable to stand by and allow things to transpire as they had. Looking back at the dying heroes, it came up with an idea. "Yes... These travesties will not come to pass. You all can make sure of that..." It said, using his powers to set back the clock on Remnant, then turning his attention to the heroes...

* * *

It was over. Dante had been sealed in the demon realm after jumping in to finish off Argosax. With no way back, Dante decided to take on his greatest foe, Mundus and finish the job he started many years ago. He found and did indeed destroy the Dark God, but it took every ounce of his remaining strength and as he limped away after the monster faded from existence, he dropped to his knees, placing his hands on the ground to keep himself up. However, he failed to do even that, falling to his side and rolling onto his back. The wounds he'd taken from the Demon Lord did not heal like they should have and blood poured from Dante's open wounds. "Well, at least it's over now. The demon's will be scrambling like chickens with their heads cut off without someone to lead them. Lucia... Nero... Lady... Trish... You can rest easy for a while..." Dante said, before letting out his last breath, the light leaving his eyes as his soul left his body, his life finally coming to an end, a blinding white light being the last thing he saw.

"This is not the end, Dante. There is still more you can do." A voice said as a white light enveloped Dante's body, before dispersing, having apparently absorbed the body and faded.

* * *

On Remnant, a woman with white hair was in a hospital, attempting to give birth to twin children. After a few moments, the girl was born and given to the nurse, he boy being born shortly after. They were cleaned and put in blankets, before being handed to their mother, who finally recovered. "A girl and a boy. They're so beautiful." She said.

Suddenly, the door opened, Jacques Schnee entered the room with his daughter Winter, the two of them approaching the woman, who held their new children and siblings respectively. "You did it, darling." He said as he looked down at his new son and daughter.

"They're so cute..." Winter said, looking up at her mother, before looking down at her sleeping siblings.

"Do you have any names in mind, my dear?" Jacques asked.

"I like Weiss for the girl. I think it fits." The mother said, looking down at her new baby daughter. She then turned her attention to her infant son. "Now, what shall we call you?" She asked softly.

"I think Whitley is a good name for the boy. It's a good, proper name." Jacques said.

However, the scrunched look on his wife's face gave him the answer before her mouth did. "Ugh. No, I don't like that name." She said, before looking to her eldest daughter. "Winter, do you have any ideas for a name for your little brother?" She asked, turning the boy enough for his sister to see without waking the child.

The eldest child thought for a moment. She thought the name should start with something besides a W, since hers and her new sister's name already started with the letter. Then, she decided since W is the 4th letter from the end of the alphabet, perhaps her brother's name should start with the 4th from the beginning: D. Almost instantly, the rest of the name formed in her head. "I know! What about Dante?" She asked.

Her parents looked at her, before letting the name ring through their ears and look at each other. "I quite like that." Jacques said.

"I do as well. Dante Schnee. It's decided then." The mother said (side note: anyone else annoyed we don't know Weiss' mom's name yet? We know the full family, names and all of the other 3 members, but not her mother. Get to it, RT!)

The years would pass pretty normally for a rich child, Dante often playing with his twin sister, the two of them having a naturally close bond as twins. Although the boy kept it to himself, he would from time to time have strange visions of monsters unlike any Grimm he'd ever seen in books or heard of, as well as people he'd never met in his life fighting the monsters alongside what looked like himself if he were older. But he dismissed these visions, thinking they were just that: visions and nothing more. And if one asked the boy about being a Huntsman and fighting the Grimm, even though it was clear that seemed to be the path his older sister Winter would choose, the boy wanted nothing to do with it. "There are other people out there who can do it. Leave it to them." He'd say. He was decently well-manored and sociable to the class he was born into, but he would still show a more mild form of his attitude from his previous life on occasion. This would all change one fateful day, however...

During an interview with the Schnee family at their home, when Dante and Weiss had grown to the age of 14, security had been slightly lowered during the day. But slightly lowered was all it took for the White Fang to attack in an attempt to assassinate the family of the company most criticized for faunus abuse and mistreatment. They were in the entrance hall of the mansion with the interview crew, when suddenly, 3 members of the notorious terrorist group burst into the room from the main entrance, another 2 coming from a parlor room behind where the family currently stood and and 10 more coming from the stairs above, 5 of them jumping down while the other 5 stood and aimed their guns down from above. One larger and more muscular member who had to have been the one in charge of the group (one of the ones who had burst through the main door) walked up to them and aimed their gun at the family. "You will all die for how you have treated the faunus." He said, first pointing his gun at Jacques, but then turning and pressing the gun to his wife's head. "First your woman, then your kids, then you." He said.

At this moment, something inside Dante snapped as he saw the gun pressed against his mother's face. Images flashing through his head of a beautiful blonde woman he didn't know hurrying to hide what looked like his younger self and another boy who looked a lot like him, then the woman getting struck down by the monsters he'd seen in the visions. He snapped back to reality furious, everything from his past life returning to him, including the events of his first mother dying, something he wouldn't allow to happen again. Before anyone could react, Dante rushed forward and slammed his fist into the man's face, sending him skidding across the ground. "Shoot him!" The downed leader ordered, all of the White Fang members taking aim at the boy.

"Dante!" His sisters yelled together, reaching out towards their brother, but their father held them back.

Suddenly, Dante let out a long shout of anger (think: powering up in DBZ) as a large glyph appeared beneath him. Suddenly, instead of a white and blue Grimm like his sister would've expected, a massive claymore and two handguns rose up from the glyph. Ignoring the guns at the moment, Dante grabbed the sword and suddenly slid forward off the glyph, slamming it into a White Fang thug in front of him, sending the poor bastard back into a wall. On a normal person, that would've been fatal, but aura kept the attack from killing, still leaving the man unconscious. Dante then turned to the right, somehow spinning the sword vertically to send another enemy into the air, bouncing off the ceiling and falling back to the ground and throwing the blade at another thug behind him, bringing him down. The White Fang members who were on the stairs had been left in shock at the display, but were finally able to recover and began firing at Dante. The white haired boy rolled to his sword and grabbed it, using it like a shield to block the bullets, while creating a glyph at the guns he'd forgotten, sending them towards him. He grabbed them and returned fire at his attackers with impressive aim for someone who, until now, had never held a gun. The one's from the parlor advanced and fired at him at this moment, as well as more thugs pouring in and trying to fire at him, but to his family's amazement, particularly Winter's, as was the only member of her family with actual combat experience, Dante kept up his fire and even alternated, shooting the enemies to his left and even behind him, effectively firing in multiple directions. Soon, all the members of the White Fang who had attacked them were unconscious, spread out all across the room, making it easy for the police responding to the attack to collect them. Dante put the guns in his pocket and turned towards his family walking up to them, quickly being pulled into a tight hug by his mother and sisters while his father was still left in shock. "I was... so worried..." Weiss cried.

"Thank you, Dante... You saved my life..." His mother said.

"You saved ALL of our lives." Winter added.

Dante smiled at them, but looked at Winter in particular. "Thanks, sis. And you know that thing I used to say about not wanting to be a Huntsman?" He asked, pausing for a moment and taking a breath. "Changed my mind." He said.

"Then so will I." Weiss said determinedly. If her twin was going to risk his life hunting monsters, she would be there as much as she could to be there for him.

So for a time, Winter began training her siblings to fight. She started training both of them, but eventually she moved to only training with Weiss. She did enjoy spending time with her younger brother and helping him perfect his style, but it quickly became obvious to her that he was far beyond her, as he quickly developed staggering levels of skill with his sword, having a style that managed to be both effective, yet flashy and stylish as well. Plus it seemed like nearly every month, he was bringing a new weapon in to train with. First, a strange variation of nunchaku with 3 rods instead of 2, powered by Ice dust, then a set of gauntlets and greaves with Fire Dust, but what truly tipped the scale and showed Winter she had nothing left to teach her brother was when he brought in a guitar with lightning dust that also turned into a scythe. And still even more shocking to her was he managed to carry all of them at once, as well as his pistols, a shotgun, which he somehow figured out how to flail around like nunchaku and a sniper rifle with bullets that split apart, all without effecting his movements or speed.

But still, within 3 years, both twins were quite formidable, Weiss' skills easily allowing her to go to any of the prestigious combat schools and Dante's skills possibly on par with seasoned Huntsman. The two now only had to decide which school to go to. They didn't have one picked out yet, but they had decided they didn't want to stay in Atlas, as Dante didn't like the idea of the Huntsman academy and the military being apart of the same thing and graduating that school would almost guarantee you being enlisted in the Atlas Military. They also wanted to have a bit more distance between them and their father. While they did love him, it had been rather tough getting along with him since their decision to be a Huntsman/Huntress. However, speaking of him, it seemed to be fate when he called them into his office. "Yes, Father?" Weiss asked properly.

"This must be important for you to take time from your busy schedule." Dante said nonchalantly, sitting in one of the chairs in front of his father's desk, despite not being told or asked to sit yet.

"Come, Weiss. Sit." He said, gesturing to the seat beside Dante.

"Oh, right." She said, sitting beside her brother. "Now, what is this about?" She asked.

"It seems that the two of you have been accepted to Beacon Academy. It seems that you have every intention of going somewhere besides Atlas, so if you want to go, I suppose I can't stop you." He said.

The twins looked at each other and smiled, Dante finding exactly what to say at the moment while his sister was at a loss for words. "Jackpot."


	2. Prologue II Cereza Bayonetta Xiao Long

Bayonetta had dealt with many angels in the past, but never once had she encountered a massive horde like this. She was completely swarmed by them, unable to find even a glimpse of her surroundings from their white and gold bodies. She fought like a champion, but even she had her limits. As the horde lessened, so did her strength. Finally, she had narrowed it down to 10. Unfortunately, those 10 were the massive, centaur-like angels that could give her a mild challenge at full strength, but as things stood now, she could barely stand. "You angels just don't get it. I've told you before and while I hate repeating myself, I'll tell you again: Don't fuck with a witch!" She said, pulling out her scythe, slashing through 3 of them, using her whips to rip apart another 5, blasting one more with Lt. Kilgore and waiting for the last one as it charged at her. She pulled out Shuraba and lunged forward at the same time as the angel. Both of them shot their weapons forward and impaled each other in the chest. A light enveloped the angel and it dispersed into nothing while Bayonetta staggered back and fell onto her back with the angel's lance still sticking through her torso. "Well... I suppose its better than being dragged down into Inferno..." She said as her life left her body.

"Inferno shall not have you, Bayonetta. You are still needed elsewhere. Now you can have something you never did as a child. A family..." A voice said as light enveloped the fallen witch, absorbing her and dispersing, similar to, but far more beautifully than when the angels are killed.

* * *

In the world of Remnant, two beautiful young girls had just been born. The first closely resembled her father, with a few strands of blonde hair and lilac eyes just like his, while the second one showed signs similar to her mother, strands of black hair and red eyes. Their father leaned in and looked at them proudly, before looking at his wife holding them. "You did it, Raven. They're beautiful. Just like you." Taiyang said, before looking back at his new daughters. "What shall we call them?" He asked.

"Why don't you pick the names, dear?" She offered. _(They'll be all yours soon enough, anyway.)_ She thought. (That's what I picture she did when Yang was born. Bitch.)

"Well," He started, looking at his first daughter and putting a hand on the side of her head, running his thumb through her few locks of hair. "I like Yang for her." He said, before looking to the other one. "And you..." He said, thinking for a moment, but was lost. "I can't think of anything. Raven, are you sure you don't want to try?" He asked.

She looked down at her daughter closely resembling herself and smiled, a beautiful name popping into her head. "What about... Cereza?" She asked.

Taiyang was intrigued by this. He had never heard a name like that before, but looking down at the beautiful little girl in her mother's arms, he smiled, thinking it fit. "Yeah. I like that... Cereza Xiao Long." He said lovingly.

* * *

And so a year would pass. Their mother had left shortly after they were born, without giving any explanation or even saying goodbye to her daughters. Soon enough, their father had gotten together with the other girl from his own team, Summer. The girls quickly took a liking to her and she did to them, soon enough having a child of her own, giving the girls a new sister. But sadly, soon enough, she would disappear as well, never returning home from a mission. The two girls were sad, but their father completely broke down. The two girls would spend most of their time trying to take care of their sister and prevent their father from falling apart. They cared deeply for their father and little sister. They cared about each other, too, but they were often at odds. Yang would often try to uncover clues about their birth mother, hoping to one day find her, while Cereza wanted nothing to do with her. She despised the thought of her birth mother who had left them. As far as she was concerned, Summer was their mother and she was gone. But despite this, the girls had made a promise to both each other and Ruby that if they ever needed each other, they'd be there. And this was put to the ultimate test one night. Yang came to Cereza with an picture of an old house and an idea. "This might be it, sis! We might be able to find Mom! And even if we don't find her, maybe there's a clue or something there that could lead us to her!"She said excitedly.

Cereza growled at her older twin's idea. "It's a stupid idea, Yang! You want us to go to some old house that might not be there anymore, in a forest you know has Grimm in it to find a woman who abandoned us!" She snapped back.

"Well, I'm going! And I'm taking Ruby! So if you want to keep your promise to be there when we need you, you'll come, too. Otherwise, what kind of sister are you?" Yang argued, before walking away.

So, their dad went on a mission in the afternoon, at which point Yang got ready, put a sleeping Ruby into their wagon and took off. Cereza watched from around the corner, before deciding that she had to go with them. "Yang! Wait!" She said, running after her sisters.

Yang turned back with a slight glare. "What? Are you trying to stop me?" She asked.

"No. Like you said, we made a promise." Cereza assured.

Yang smiled at this. "Okay, then! Let's go!" She said.

So the 3 sisters wandered far after they'd lost track of time, not knowing how long they'd been out and even then, they kept moving. Eventually, as tired as they were from all the wondering, they had found the old house. "There it is! This must be it!" Yang said through tired pants.

"There'd better be something here." Cereza said, in only a little better shape, as she was slightly more active than Yang from playing with Ruby more often.

Suddenly, 3 sets of vicious red eyes appeared from the dark doorway, 3 beowulves lunging out from the doorway. Suddenly, images flashed in Cereza's mind: of her looking much older fighting some weird Grimm that were white and gold instead of their usual black and red, fighting alongside and protecting a girl who looked like the exact opposite of her and a young bow dressed in orange with white hair. The whole time, she had been using some strange ability, which must have been her semblance, to slow down time and avoid attacks. "Better hope that still works!" She said nervously, closing her eyes as a Grimm's claw was inches from her face. Suddenly, everything stopped. The claw didn't connect, the Grimm were hanging in the air and Yang was completely still and unmoving. Looking to the right, she also saw their Uncle Qrow lunging at the Grimm with his scythe at the read. "Uncle Qrow..." She said in surprise, before shaking her head. Thinking quickly, she grabbed Yang and the wagon handle and ran a few feet away. She then picked up Ruby, put her in Yang's arms, grabbed the wagon and ran back, swinging it down on the front beowulf. Time then restarted, the wagon slammed down onto the Beowulf's head and knocked it to the ground (if Zwei can headbutt a beowulf and send it flying, I'm assuming a wagon around the same weight, probably heavier, could do that) and Qrow slashed the 3 of them, ensuring the safety of his neices.

However, even he was shocked at what happened. One minute, the Grimm in front was almost ready to take down Cereza, the next, she flattened it with a wagon while Ruby and Yang were way back out of harm's way. "Cereza... What just...?" He asked, unsure of how to react.

"Would you believe pure luck?" She said, unsure of what to make of her abilities herself (honestly, did anyone else want to see her reaction to using her powers the very first time?)

* * *

"I can't explain it, Tai. One second, the girls were right in front of the Beowulves, the next Cereza's slamming the wagon down on one of them and Ruby and Yang are 10 feet away. Maybe Cereza found her semblance, but what kind could let her do that?" Qrow asked.

"Maybe some kind of speed semblance? Or time, but no one's ever seen a kind of semblance like that before." Taiyang guessed.

"Well, there are plenty of strange one's out there. So, how are we gonna handle this?" He asked.

"Well, the girls had already wanted to be Huntresses. We might as well teach them how." Taiyang said (I know they don't get along, but Qrow would later teach Ruby, anyway and Taiyang didn't stop it, so he might as well be in on this now.)

So from there, the girls would learn to fight in the attempts to become Huntresses, Yang training with her father, Ruby later training with Qrow and Cereza (or Bayonetta, as she now liked to be called, none of her family knowing where she came up with the nickname) training with both of them, shocking them with her rapid development of her skills, both hand to hand and with weapons. Not only did she seem to be able to master just about any weapon she picked up, but she somehow even figured out how to shoots pistols with her feet! So, it was no surprise as she grew older that she and Yang were both guaranteed a spot at Beacon.


	3. Prologue III: Ryu Hayabusa

Ryu supported himself with his Dragon Sword, holding a deep wound on his side. The Dragon ninja had taken on a massive army of fiends. He had fought for an entire day against fiends ranging from the same size as him to the size of of a garbage truck. Even against all the odds, taken dozens of injuries that would easily put down a normal human being, he had prevailed. But victory didn't come without a cost, Ryu was bleeding profusely from several wounds, deep and shallow and he had spent all of his energy in the fight, unable to even stand, having to use is sword for support. "It's over... I leave this world in good hands. Ayane... Momiji... Rachel... Kasumi... Hayate...Protect this world. And yourselves..." Ryu said, before falling to his side, the blood in his body and his life leaving him.

"This world is indeed in good hands, Ryu. But another world is in need of your abilities." A voice said as light enveloped Ryu and dispersed, rising to the sky.

* * *

In the world of Remnant, a child named Ryu was born to a huntsman in the village of Kuroyuri. His mother died from childbirth, leaving the huntsman to raise his child alone. He would train his son to be a warrior like him, raising him to be a powerful huntsman to protect the people of the world. By the time he was 5, he was incredibly adept at hand to hand combat and the use of several weapons, including a single or twin katanas, staff, claws, nunchaku, tonfa and kusari-gama and was quickly learning how to use much heavier, stronger weapons such as a scythe or greatsword. However, the boy had a secret: already having been through one of the processes of Resurrection before, the child remembered his past life as Ryu Hayabusa, the Dragon Ninja, which helped greatly when he was re-learning how to fight, especially since, as a huntsman, his father was not always around, so Ryu would often have to train by himself. There weren't many children in the village and Ryu was the only one being trained as a warrior, but it was clear he was in the best physical condition out of all of them.

This was evident when one day, Ryu was walking through town for his daily exercise when he heard someone yelling. Running along the back streets, Ryu got close to the scene without being detected and saw 3 boys he knew as bullies towards a few other kids in the village standing over a girl he didn't know: a dirt-covered girl with orange hair, a black jacket over a white shirt, pink shorts and shoes that had mixes of pink, white and black. She was holding a piece of bread close to her chest, rightfully out of fear that the boys standing over her would take it. "Where did you get that bread?! I didn't see you pay for it, thief!" The boy in the middle snapped. He was the tallest of the 3 and stood slightly taller than Ryu.

"No, look, it's all moldy!" The one to the left said.

"I think she got it from the trash!" The middle one said.

"Let me see!" The one to the right demanded, reaching for the bread, but the girl bit his finger. "Ow! She bit me!" He whined, before pushing her to the ground.

Ryu narrowed his eyes at this. In his past life, he had never liked those that would harm someone weaker than themselves and in this life, his father had always told him to stand up to those who would hurt others. "That's enough." Ryu said, emerging from his hiding place.

"Oh, look, it's mr. Tough Guy." The one in the middle taunted.

"Whoa! Where'd he come from!?" The boy to the left said.

"Who cares?" The one on the right said.

"Yeah. What are you gonna do if we don't stop?" The middle one asked.

"Make you." Ryu said simply.

"Oh, yeah?! Try it!" The one in the middle said, walking up to the young girl and raising a leg to stomp on her. (before I go any further, I do not condone child violence. I DO, however, find it hilarious.)

Ryu quickly picked up a rock at his feet and threw it at the boy in the middle, smacking him in the forehead and sending him to the ground. The one on the right picked up a stick and ran at Ryu, swinging it at him, but he easily caught it and punched his attacker in the face, sending him to the ground as well. The last one was shocked that his friends were so easily dealt with, but closed his eyes, shouting in anger and running at Ryu with one fist pulled back, ready to punch the young ninja, who kicked him in the stomach before the boy was in arm's reach, causing him to drop to his knees and hold his stomach, before dropping onto his side, still holding his pained gut. Ryu then looked up to see Lie Ren watching from around the corner. The two were on good terms, but Lie looked horrified at what Ryu had just done. Ryu simply gave a half smile and shrugged, before looking at the girl on the ground. "It's okay. I'll help you." He offered, helping her to her feet. "Come on. I'll get you some food that isn't moldy." He said, taking her hand and leading her to his house.

He took her back to his house and made them both a bowl of ramen, the girl surprising him with how quickly she managed to slurp down the entire bowl... and the resulting burp that practically shook the entire house. "Thank you." She said happily.

"You're... welcome." Ryu said, shaking off the shock from her burp ( vignette4 .wikia .nocookie rwby/images/e/e0/Shocked_Weiss .png/revision/latest?cb=20140925234647 ). "I am Ryu Hayabusa. What is your name?" He asked.

"Nora." She said.

"Where are your parents? Surely someone is looking for you and will feed you, right?" He asked. She lowered her head at this, clearly depressed, before shaking it.

"No. I don't have anyone." She said sadly.

Ryu looked at her sadly at this, before taking her hands and holding them, causing her to look him in the face. "You do now. I'll ask my father, maybe he'll let you stay with us. And even if he doesn't, you can come back here any time if you need my help." He told her.

She looked at him with a shocked expression on her face, before starting to cry and hugging him. "Thank you!" She said through tears. He was a bit shocked at this at first, before slowly hugging back.

So, after talking with his father, he agreed to allow Nora to stay with them, enjoying a nice dinner and sleeping in an actual bed. It seemed perfect, until there was a commotion outside of people screaming and monstrous roaring. Ryu jolted up as his father burst into the room. "Ryu! Nora! Wake up!" He told them, quickly waking the girl.

"Father! What's wrong?!" Ryu asked.

"Grimm are attacking. You two must get out of here. I have to stay and defend the town!" He told them.

Ryu was shocked when he looked out the window to see houses on fire and falling apart, as well as several large grimm terrorizing the streets. He then looked back at his father. He had been prepared for an event like this, but he hadn't imagined it would be so soon. But he looked back at Nora and knew he had to do what he could to protect her and get her away from this danger. He nodded and lifted up a board on his floor, pulling out a backpack containing provisions and a small sword (similar to the ones Ayane used) and two small pouches on either side of his waist, the left holding shurikens and small projectile weapons and the one on the right containing several dust crystals for Ryu to utilize with his semblance: his Ninpo attacks. By using aura instead of Chi, he can still use them, although to use his elemental attacks, he needs specific Dust crystals (I'll clarify at the end). Gathering all his essentials, Ryu grabbed Nora's hand and ran out the door behind his father, running towards the end of town as his father charged deeper into the town to fight the Grimm. The two had made good progress, but then a Nevermore shrieked in the sky. Looking up, the two watched as it flew in and fired feathers at them. "Look out!" Ryu said, pushing her out of the way.

All of the feathers missed the children, but several of them hit the building just behind them, tearing it apart and causing it to fall. "Ryu!" Nora said, reaching out for him as it started to fall.

"Run!" He told her, pointing towards the bridge out of town before the building collapsed between the two of them. Heeding his own advice, he took off down the back alley where the Nevermore couldn't follow in such a tight space, heading for the exit like he'd planned. After a few minutes, he could see the bridge, looking around for Nora. Suddenly...

"Ryu!" He heard his name called, seeing Nora and Lie underneath a building that hadn't yet crumbled. However, this had alerted a boarbetusk near the bridge to their presence, causing it to charge.

"No!" Ryu shouted, pulling out a Black Dust Crystal and utilizing its power of Gravity to use The Art of Piercing Void, creating and throwing a black hole at the monster and ripping it in half. However, in doing so, he had drained a large amount of his aura, tiring himself out, leaving him open for a Nevermore to strike.

However, instead, the beast strangely landed in front of him, showing no signs of hostility at all. It was as if it couldn't see him. "Hurry!" Lie called out as Nora waved him over. He quickly took the initiative and ran towards his friends, sliding under the building when he was close enough.

"Ryu!" Nora said, hugging him.

"It's alright, I'm okay." He said.

"You had us worried." Lie said.

"Yeah. It was close. But I made it. Thanks to you." Ryu said, having been able to sense Lie when he was using his aura. Suddenly, they heard a screech, but instead of a Nevermore, a striking peregrine falcon flew down with a sword sheathed in its talons, as well as something wrapped in a cloth, landing in front of Ryu. He was shocked as he instantly recognized the weapon of the Dragon Sword he used countless times in his past life, unwrapping the item in the cloth Ryu was pleasantly surprised to find the Eye of The Dragon, the jewel glowing brilliantly at which point the falcon flew off. Ryu smiled at this, looking at his friends and nodding confidently. "It's okay. I can take care of us." He said.

Lie looked to the side and found the small wooden hammer he could've bought earlier, carefully crawling out from under the building and grabbing it, before crawling back and handing it to Nora, holding out the knife his father had given him. "We'll keep each other safe." He said.

And so, the 3 managed to escape the ruined city, keeping each other safe as they had promised. Ryu would teach his new friends out to fight, teaching Ren (as he now preferred to be called) many of the swift, yet devastating moves he had known Ayane to do best while teaching Nora to use a hammer to the same magnitude as Rachel had in the past, as well as a few of the moves he had used when he once wielded her fallen War Hammer. He had tried to teach them to use more weapons like he did, but they felt most comfortable using one weapon. Ryu, meanwhile would grow to make just about all the weapons he had used in his past life; a set of swords longer and lighter than the Dragon Sword, nunchaku with scythe-like blades, powerful, bone-crushing tonfa that when combined, become a powerful automatic rifle similar to Rachel's 666 Heavy Machine Gun, a kusari-gama, claws and bladed greaves much like the Falcon's Talons, a quarterstaff much like the Lunar Staff, a deadly scythe and finally, a menacing greatsword modeled after Dabilahro that transforms into the Howling Cannon They would many to earn themselves enough money to live by the week and somehow eventually caught the attention of Ozpin, earning themselves a spot in Beacon Academy.

* * *

 **Ryu's Semblance: As explained before, Ryu's Semblance will be his Ninpo. Without Dust Crystals, he can use healing (Art of Divine Life), create a doppelganger, teleport or energy-based Ninpo (Torn Sky Blast), but for his elemental Ninpo, he needs a specific Dust Crystal. Ice Crystal=Art of Ice Storm, Fire Crystal= Art of Inferno, Art of Flame Pheonix, Art of Fire Wheels or Art of True Inferno (the Dragon thing from NG3), Gravity= Art of Piercing Void, Lightning= Art of Inazuma and Wind= Art of Wind Blades or Art of Hurricane  
**


	4. Prologue IV: Kratos Nikos

"My Vengeance... Ends Now." Kratos said, raising the Blade of Olympus, preparing to swing it and strike down Athena's ghost... or so she thought. But instead, the blade passed over her as Kratos swung it in a massive arc, releasing his grip on it and catching it by the blade, which now faced him, allowing him to stab it into himself, freeing all of the hope trapped inside him for humanity to have a chance to survive the world he left in ruin.

"That was meant for me! They will not know what to do with it!" Athena's spirit raged at the dying demigod. She floated forward and grabbed his head, forcing him to look at her and share a final glare of hatred before she gripped the now powerless blade embedded in The Ghost of Sparta's torso and painfully wrenched it around in his chest. "You disappoint me, Spartan." She said to him.

He snarled at her in one last act of defiance and if glares could kill, Athena's spirit would be no more. Finally, she ripped the massive blade from his chest and floated away, leaving the Spartan to fall to his back, chuckling through coughs as he began to drown in his own blood. Finally, the mighty warrior's life faded and he left the world of the living once again. However, this was not the end of Kratos. "You gave humanity hope and a chance to rise again, Kratos. No, perhaps you can do that for Remnant, as well." A voice rang out as light enveloped the former God of War, then dispersing to the sky.

* * *

On Remnant, yet another set of twins was born, the first was a baby boy with grey eyes, no hair to be seen on his head, the second was a beautiful little girl with green eyes and a few strands of red hair. The two grew up with a fairly normal childhood, both growing up with aspirations to be a Huntsman/Huntress. They would attend Sanctum Academy in Mistral, the younger twin, Pyrrha, found herself utilizing a shield and spear that could turn into a short sword or hunting rifle. Her older twin, Kratos brought a small armory with him into battle, wearing an impressive and sturdy suit of armor (the Dominus costume from GOW3 Ultimate or Trilogy edition), with a pair of intimidating short swords he swung around with chains held in golden bracers (forearm guards) that can retract or extend up to 30 feet. The swords also turned into Uzi's (I guarantee none of you saw that coming) while the bracers could also turn into massive gauntlets designed in the image of snarling lions, a shield and spear similar to his sister and finally, a massive golden and white double-bladed sword loaded to an almost dangerous amount with lightning Dust. The two were practically inseparable, as well as an almost unstoppable team, entering the Mistral Doubles Tournament and winning 4 years in a row. With accomplishments like this, the two easily had the option of attending any combat school they wanted in the future, but Pyrrha had decided on Beacon, so the decision was made, for as formidable as Kratos was and with all his strength, even a semblance that increased his strength with his heart rate, he was powerless against his younger twin's pleading eyes and pouting lips.

* * *

The deity watched from above, pleased with his actions. The warriors were shaping up to be just as good of fighters in this world as they had been in their worlds and now, they were all dedicated to the right thing, becoming Huntsman (and a Huntress) to protect the world and the people they cared about. "This world has a chance now. The tragedies that happened once before will not happen again. No one shall die this time." It spoke.

(Sorry for this chapter being so short. I admit to kind of rushing this, but I wanted to get it done and I honestly couldn't think of what else I could add here.)


	5. 3 sisters heading to Beacon

**A/N: Hello, Everyone! I'm glad and honestly quite surprised to see so many of you like and are already following Team SCRN! I thought I'd have to get at least to the Emerald Forest before it really took off. But the Emerald Forest is exactly what this A/N is about: I have a poll on my profile for you all to look at and decided how Team SCRN should partner up once they're launched into the Emerald Forest. With that out of the way, onto the story!**

* * *

Ruby was happily sitting at home, reading a magazine about weapons, when it was suddenly snatched from her by... "Bayonetta! Give it back!" Ruby said, reaching for the magazine held out of reach by her older, much taller sister. Bayonetta wasn't extremely tall, actually shorter than Yang by 2 inches (making her 5'6", Yang is 5'8"), but she wore heels that put her up to 6 feet.

"Actually, I was thinking you could come with me into town. I have an errand I need to run and I want you to come with me." She said, pulling her sister into a hug.

"Ugh... You always want me to go places with you." Ruby grumbled, trying to pull away.

"I like spending time with my little sister. Besides, you need to get out more." Bayonetta countered, tossing the magazine onto the table.

"Right. Or..." Ruby said mischievously, about to take off with her semblance, but the instant she started to run, Bayonetta used her own semblance to stop time and snatch her little sister under her arm.

"Honestly, how many times have you tried that now? Probably since the first time you ever used your semblance and it never worked. You really need to think outside the box, sis." Bayonetta said, carrying Ruby towards and out the door. (By the way, this version of Bayonetta doesn't have an English accent.)

"Oh, come on! At least let me walk on my own!" Ruby said, squirming.

"Lucky you, I'll need my arms for carrying things home. BUT, try that again and I'm sure I'll find a way to carry you and them." She said, setting Ruby down.

"So, why are we doing this so late at night?" Ruby asked.

"It's my favorite time, dear sister. And where we're going is only open at night." Bayonetta explained.

So, the two went into the city, heading towards a place that looked suspiciously close to a night club Ruby had caught Yang literally bursting out from a few weeks ago. "Bayonetta? Isn't that a bar? You know dad doesn't want us going to those places. Yang got in trouble for that when Dad found out." Ruby said, looking at her sister with a look of suspicion that matched the tone of her voice.

"Of course not, Ruby. I'd never take you to a bar... Until you were 21, anyway. But no, a friend of mine works here. I'm going to Beacon with Yang in a few days, so I need some better weapons. My friend makes them for me." Bayonetta explained.

Ruby gasped in delight at this. "New weapons! Why didn't you say that from the start! Let's go!" Ruby said, about to rush in, but Bayonetta held her back.

"Sorry, sis, but my friend gets a little weird around new people. But you'll get to see them as soon as I come back out, okay?" Bayonetta said, before turning around and entering The Gates of Hell..

Ruby pouted at this. "Fine, maybe they have some magazines next door. They might even have the one you didn't let me finish reading at home!" Ruby called after her sister before entering the shop next door: From Dust Till Dawn.

Inside The Gates of Hell...

"My, my, my. It's been quite a while, hasn't it, Bayonetta?" Rodin asked from behind the bar.

"Rodin. I swear you're stalking me. I died and was reincarnated in a whole new world, yet somehow, you found a way here and found me." She said, walking up to the bar. It was indeed a bar, which was why she didn't take Ruby in with her. She didn't need to get grounded like Yang did.

"It must just be our Bloody Fate, babe." He said.

"A: I'm 17, so don't 'babe' me. B: if you said 'bloody' to make fun of my accent, I'm afraid I lost that when I lost my first life. Now then, you called me here because you had weapons for me, right? Let's see them. I'm going to be going to Beacon soon, so I'll need a few new things to really wow my fellow students and teachers." She explained.

"Don't worry. I got 'em right here. All your favorites." Rodin said, opening a secret room, the bar sliding away to reveal a wall full of deadly weapons. He laid down enough weapons to cover the entire bar with them. "Here you are. They might now be magic, anymore, but Dust and the technology this world has is just as good." Rodin said.

First, Bayonetta picked up a familiar set of twin curving swords and by spinning her wrists backwards, they changed form, becoming a pair of shotguns. The next was a menacing scythe with 3 blades that looked to also be some form of bolt-action rifle. After that came a pair of claws loaded with Dust Crystals that could alternate between Fire and Lightning, that turned into large launchers powered with either fire or ice Dust. The next were a set of wrist-mounted chainsaws that also transformed into a fusion of tonfas and rocket launchers. These were followed by a pair of thorn-like whips that combined into a dragonfly-like bow. And finally, at the end were the weapons Bayonetta was most fond with: 4 beautiful blue pistols that fit in her hands like gloves and connected to her heels perfectly. "Once again, a job well done, Rodin. When can I expect the bill?" She asked.

"Consider them a going back to school present. Besides, you brought me the Dust, so it only makes sense I give you something you can use it with." Rodin said. Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking could be heard outside. "Sounds like somebody's throwing a party." He said.

Bayonetta sighed. "I gotta go. My sister's probably in trouble out there. It will give me a good excuse to use these, though." She said, rushing outside. Sure enough, Ruby was the cause off the damage, her scythe deployed and 5 thugs laying unconscious around her, with the apparent leader standing in front of her, looking down at one of the unconscious goons at his feet. "You were worth every cent, truly, you were." He said, before raising his cane at Ruby. "Well, Red, it's been fun. But what do you say we call it a night?" He asked, pointing the bottom of his cane at Ruby. Suddenly, the bottom flipped open, at which point some explosive projectile flew out at Ruby, who easily dodged it with a backflip.

The man prepared to run off, but Bayonetta caught him and put one of her Rakshasa blades to his throat. "Roman Torchwick. I've heard of you on the news before. And it looks like you're causing trouble again. Luckily, you won't be getting far this time." She said.

"Bayonetta!" Ruby said happily.

"Hey, sis. Getting yourself in trouble again?" Bayonetta asked.

"More like dealing with trouble like an awesome huntress!" Ruby countered.

"Well, not that this hasn't been fun, but I've got other things to do. Medusa!" Torchwick called out. Suddenly, a number of black, arrow-looking projectiles flew towards the sisters from up above, forcing them to jump back, allowing Torchwick to bolt for a nearby building and climb the latter.

Then, woman with a fairly average physical build, and a large, black, dotted snake tattoo winding down either arm. Her facial features consist of eyes containing yellow irises with black pupils, and blonde hair arranged in a spiked style, with two long strands extending downwards framing either side of her face, that entwine each other like a caduceus' snake to rest upon her chest. She wore a black body-length suit with hood, which extends downwards to her knees. The hood itself is adorned with an eye-like marking upon either side which, interestingly, when worn in addition to the shape of her hair, gives it the appearance of a snake's mouth, with teeth and fangs. Her fingernails were also painted black with yellow arrows pointing upwards, as were her toenails, which Bayonetta could see as the woman was barefoot. She was Medusa Gorgon, the villain once responsible for releasing a demon to push her world to the brink of chaos. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you stop him. We have plans that you could never even imagine. Luckily, you won't have to. Because I'm going to kill you here an now!" The woman said, again launching the arrow-like projectiles from her back at the sisters, who dodged again, Ruby simply jumping back and Bayonetta dashing and rolling. coming to a stop in front of Ruby.

"Ruby, go after him. I'll handle this barefoot bitch." She said.

"Language!" Ruby said teasingly, before following her sister's orders and easily reaching the top of the building.

"Well, you certainly are confident to face me alone." Medusa said, creating a Vector Blade with her Semblance.

"I'm sure I've faced worse before." Bayonetta countered with a shrug.

"We'll just see about that!" The woman said, rushing in.

 **Background Music: "This is Gonna Hurt" by Sixx AM**

Depsite the blade being rather large, the woman had no problem swinging it fast enough with one hand to match Bayonetta wielding two swords. However, Bayonetta had quickly managed to force Medusa into a defensive position, trying to prevent the former Umbran Witch from bringing the two blades down on her. Eventually, she did push back and open up Medusa's defenses, preparing to land a powerful blow that would take a considerable amount of anyone's aura, but before she could land the strike... "Vector Plate!" Medusa announced, creating an arrow on the ground underneath Bayonetta, pointing away from her, sending the black-haired girl flying back. Bayonetta managed to plant one of her hands on the ground and gracefully do a handspring to land back on her feet, firing both pistols and her right foot gun at the blonde woman, who was shocked at this kind of fighting style, struggling to block it as Bayonetta transferred from foot to foot to close the distance while keeping up her fire. "Enough! Let's see how well you dodge when ALL my arrows come after you! Vector Arrow!" Medusa announced, unleashing another, much larger swarm of arrows that flew towards Bayonetta in a wide arc, cutting off almost every angle of escape...

... For a normal person. "Oh." Bayonetta said, before using her semblance to stop time, casually walking forward and passing through the gap in the center of the arrows. "You know, you should really start wearing shoes. There's all kinds of unpleasant things on the ground you could step on and hurt your feet, but also, someone could step on your toes." She said, stomping on Medusa's feet, then blasting the evil woman away with Lt. Kilgore.

The woman rolled across the ground a few times, before stopping herself and creating another Vector arrow to rush at Bayonetta. However, instead of a direct, head-on attack the woman created 3 angled arrows to zip around behind Bayonetta and strike her with the Vector Blade, knocking her forward, rolling to a stop in a cat-like pose, before pouncing forward, where the woman waited in preparation for another attack, but once again, Bayonetta used her semblance to stop time, slamming the gun into the woman's face, then firing a barrage of bullets, kicking her in the stomach and following up with another barrage, before running forward and kicking the woman in the face, sending her skidding down the road.

Medusa brought herself to a stop and prepared to fight again, before noticing an airship flying quite low was now starting to take off. "you've won this round, but I won't forget this. The next time we fight, you won't be so lucky." Medusa threatened, somehow creating a giant serpent's head from her tattoo and using it to fly after and land on the airship.

 **End Music**

"Glad that's taken care of. Better check on Ruby." Bayonetta said, easily reaching the top of the building where her sister now stood with a tall, middle-aged woman with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. Her eyes are bright green and she wears thin ovular glasses. She has dangling teal earrings that match the hanging pendant on her collar. She wears a white long-sleeved, pleated top that has a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flare in pleats at the wrist. Her lower body is covered by a black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings. She wears black boots with brown heels, and a cape that is purple inside and black on the outside. The cut of the cape is stylized to end in flames and arrows, with a row of diamond-shaped bronze beads on the back. Above this line of beads appears an emblem of a tiara.

"You're a huntress?" Ruby asked the woman, before entering fan girl mode. "Can I have your autograph?!" She asked.

"Ruby!" Bayonetta called before jogging up. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to her." Ruby said, gesturing to the woman.

"Well, then thank you for saving my sister." Bayonetta said.

"Your sister? And did you have anything to do with this incident?" She asked.

"Yes. I came out of a nearby building after talking to a friend, where I saw Ruby had handled a bunch of thugs. We tried to catch the leader, but a strange woman attacked us from nowhere. But I like to think I handled her pretty well. No need to thank me." Bayonetta said with a smirk.

* * *

"Well, if this is the alternative, I would've preferred if you just said thanks." Bayonetta said as her and Ruby were now sat at a table in a dark room as if they were being interrogated.

"I hope you realize your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young ladies!" The Huntress said sternly as she paced back and forth behind them. "You put yourselves and others in great danger." She said, now in a more concerned tone.

"But they started it!" Ruby objected.

Bayonetta rolled her eyes at her sister's childish statement, but she wasn't wrong. "Self defense." She agreed.

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home. With a pat on the back..." The Huntress started, supportively at first, putting hopeful smiles on the girl's faces. "And a slap on the wrist!" She snapped, slamming her riding crop on the table, causing Ruby to yelp and pull her hands away while Bayonetta also flinched, then glared at the Huntress in front of her and protectively held Ruby's arms, pulling her close. "But... There is someone here who would like to meet you." She said.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man with tousled silver hair and thin brown eyes, a light complexion, sharp facial features and black eyebrows wearing shaded glass spectacles and a small, purple, cross-shaped pin on the cowl around his neck, an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green shirt, black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants. He held a plate full of cookies in one hand and in the other, he had a mug with the symbol of Beacon academy on it, from which Bayonetta could smell hot cocoa. They knew who he was, but they'll say later."Ruby Rose. You... have silver eyes." He said, leaning in to look at her.

"Um..." Ruby said, unsure of how to react.

"And Cereza Xiao Long. If I'm not mistaken, you are to attend Beacon soon. Is that correct?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. I'm really looking forward to it." She said.

"I see. And would you mind telling me why you took your younger sister to a bar?" He asked.

"I knew it!" Ruby said, turning to Bayonetta, giving her an accusing, "you're busted" look, to which the older sister countered with a look as if to say "tell Dad and you're dead".

"If it helps my case, I didn't take her INTO the bar with me." Bayonetta said defensively, before answering. "I was meeting up with an old friend of mine who use to make weapons for me to see if he could make me anything special to bring to Beacon." She explained.

"And he certainly did. I must admit, even I've never seen weapons quite like those before." He admitted, before turning to Ruby. "So, where did you learn to do this?" He asked, showing her the video of herself beating down Torchwick's thugs.

"Well done, Ruby. I couldn't have done better myself." Bayonetta said as she watched the video, although it was clear she was pretty much brown-nosing her sister to keep the bar thing a secret.

Ruby caught onto this, however, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at her sister, before turning back to the man in front of her. "Signal Academy." She said, slightly nervous.

"They taught the two of you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" He asked, since Bayonetta had also brought in a scythe.

"Well, one teacher in particular." Ruby explained, to which Bayonetta nodded.

"I see." He said in acknowledgment, before placing the plate of cookies on the table. Both sisters took one, Bayonetta biting off about a quarter of it while Ruby engulfed the entire cookie in her mouth, pausing for a moment and looking at the adults, before rapidly firing down 6 more (I counted).

"How many times have I told you to eat slower? Especially in front of people!" Bayonetta said, slightly scolding her younger sister.

"About as many times as Dad has told you and Yang to stay away from bars and night clubs." Ruby retorted.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow..." The man explained as he thought of the scythe-wielder.

"Oh, that's-" Bayonetta started, before Ruby let out a small, muffled cry.

"Thash ouh unkul!" Ruby said with a mouth still full of cookies and one more in her hand.

Bayonetta facepalmed at this. (I can't believe she's talking with her mouth full in front of one of the most important people in Remnant!) She thought worriedly. If things go wrong here, she might not get to Beacon.

The young sister then swallows and wipes her mouth, embarrassed. "Sorry. That's my Uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm all like— Hooowaaah! Witchaaaa!" She said, making Karate-style poses and noises.

"So I've noticed." The man said, placing his cup on the table as he leans in, then sits down opposite Ruby. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" He asked.

"Well... I want to be a huntress." Ruby answered.

"You want to slay monsters?" He asked.

"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" She said, talking faster and faster with her enthusiasm growing.

(Uh-oh. She's getting herself worked up again.) Bayonetta thought worriedly.

"You see, both of my sisters are starting there this year (gestures to Bayonetta), and they're trying to become Huntresses, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!" She continued, giggling. "I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, GOSH, you know!" She finished, flipping out at the last part, staring at the two adults with a wide, crazy smile.

They study her for a moment before the man speaks. "Do you know who I am?" He asked.

"You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon." Bayonetta answered.

He then nodded and smiled at the girls. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you." They said together.

"You want to come to my School?" He asked, moreso to Ruby, since Bayonetta was already going to be attending.

"More than anything." She answered.

He looked to Glynda, who clearly didn't approve of his idea, looking away with a "hmph", before he looked back to her. "Well, okay." He said, leaving both girls shocked and delighted.

* * *

Ruby's face changed to one of horror as the scene changed, the girls being on an airship with Yang pulling Ruby into a hug, crushing the air out of her. "Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" She said excitedly, hugging Ruby a little tighter.

"Please stop." Ruby said as she gasped for breath.

"But I'm so proud of you!" Yang said as she backed up.

"Hey, I think I deserve some credit here. I made sure she was in the right place at the right time." Bayonetta added.

"You let her in front of a bar! It was just luck on your part! It's thanks to you she was put IN DANGER." Yang said disapprovingly.

"She handled herself perfectly fine." Bayonetta countered.

"Yeah, really Sis, it was nothing." Ruby said to Yang.

"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees." Yang said excitedly.

"I don't want to be the "bee's knees", okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees." Ruby said.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Bayonetta asked, sitting down, Ruby taking a seat beside her and Yang taking a seat to Ruby's right.

"Yeah. What she said. Aren't you excited?" Yang asked.

"Of course I'm excited... I just..." She started, sighing. "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything." Ruby said.

The twins looked at each other, before looking to their younger sister, each putting an arm around her shoulder. "But you are special." Yang said.

"I always say, if you got it, flaunt it." Bayonetta said, gesturing to her body with her free hand. (side note: Bayonetta now wears a catsuit, similar to Nina Williams, or Jill Valentine in RE5. It's as close to her original outfit as you can get)

"Yeah, we know." Yang said challengingly and teasingly.

"Well, at least my clothes cover everything." Bayonetta countered.

"But they're tight enough to the point nothing's left to the imagination. You could be naked and there wouldn't be a difference." Yang retorted.

"Agree to disagree, dear sister." Bayonetta said, knowing...

"You're just saying that because you know I won." Yang teased again.

Suddenly, their attentions were turned to the window as the news somehow played on the screens, where mugshots of Torchwick were being shown. "The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa." The newsman spoke, the screen shifting to a woman named Lisa Lavendars, with a photo of animal-eared demonstrators holding signs saying "WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!" followed by an image of the logo of a growling red wolf's head with three scratch marks beside her.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted..."She started, but the news was cut off by an image of the Huntress who had helped Ruby the night before.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon!" She said.

"Who's that?" Yang asked.

The Huntress must've known that was going to be a popular question, as she answered it almost immediately. "I am Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh." Yang said simply.

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it." She started.

"No pressure there." Bayonetta said, to which her sisters giggled.

"You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." She finished, before disappearing.

This however, gave them a beautiful view of the city below them now. "What a view. Isn't this amazing?" Bayonetta said to her sisters. She had experienced views like this before, often in much more exciting situations, but something about having her sisters here to enjoy it with her made it better.

Ruby was left in awe as well. "Oh, wow! Look, you can see Signal from up here! I guess home isn't too far after all!" She said.

"Beacon's our home now." Yang said, putting an arm around both her sisters' shoulders. The three then hear a passenger groaning and hunched over nearby, running to the back of the ship. "Well... I guess the view's not for everyone." Yang said, rolling her eyes.

"There was BOUND to be one person who couldn't hold their food down." Bayonetta said.

"It was fun while it lasted. I wonder who we're gonna meet?" Ruby wondered.

"Hopefully there will be some nice boys there." Bayonetta said, earning a high-five from Yang.

"I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy." Ruby said, to which her sisters nodded. Suddenly, Ruby and Bayonetta smelled something, looking down and discovering to their horror... "Oh, Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!" Ruby said, disgusted,

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang said in a sickened tone, shaking her foot to rid it of the puke, almost getting some on her sisters.

"Well, don't do that near us!" Bayonetta said, using her semblance and clearing as much distance from her older twin as she could.

"Get-Get away! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby said urgently as she, too tried to escape Yang and the puke she was flinging from her feet.


	6. Friends, Enemies and Crushes

The airship finally reached Beacon and everyone got off, the first one being the unimpressive blonde punk who was barfing the entire trip, whose first stop was the trash can, depositing whatever was left in his stomach into the receptacle. The three sisters continued up the courtyard, stopping and looking in awe at the castle- like school."The view from Vale's got nothing on this." Yang said.

"For once, dear sister, I can agree with you." Bayonetta said as she looked at the school as well, then they both looked to their younger sister as she turned into a strange chibi form as she looked at the various weapons their fellow students were carrying around. "Oh! Sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! Oh! And she's got a fire sword!" Ruby said in delight as she floated after the girl, only for Yang to pull her back. "Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons!"

"'Just weapons'? They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!" Ruby said.

"You do have to admit, Yang, it's always fun to see new weapons." Bayonetta said. While she wasn't as weapon-crazy as her sister, her wide knowledge of weapons and large arsenal has left her with a love for weapons.

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" Yang asked.

Ruby transformed her weapon into its scythe form and hugged it like her best friend. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better..."

Yang playfully pushed her sister's hood down over her face, earning her a glare and an elbow from Bayonetta. She teases Ruby from time to time as well, but Yang's teasing is significantly rougher, so she disapproves. "Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?" Yang asked.

"But... why would I need friends if I have you and Bayonetta?" Ruby asked.

"Exactly. You always do this. You try to force her to make friends. Let her do it at her own pace." Bayonetta said, putting an arm around Ruby's shoulders.

"Well..." Yang started, in a flash, a group of other students surround Yang. She grabbed Bayonetta's free arm. "Actually, my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. Taking Bayonetta with me! 'Kay, see ya, bye!" She said quickly as they all dash down the road, leaving Ruby spinning in circles and dizzy from their sudden.

"Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms? I don't know what I'm doing..."She groaned, before falling back into a luggage cart, sending cases flying.

Suddenly, someone stood over her furiously. "What are you doing?!" The girl demanded.

"Oh, sorry!" Ruby quickly apologized.

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?" The girl demanded.

"Uh..." Ruby said, unsure of how to respond as she handed a case to the angry girl in front of her.

"Give me that!" She snapped as she snatched the luggage from Ruby and opened it to reveal its twinkling-sounding contents. "This is Dust - mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!" She explained, while still quite angry.

"Uuuhhhh..." Ruby said, unsure of how to respond to the angry girl

"What are you, brain-dead?" She demanded, holding out a vial of red Dust and shutting the case. "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!" She ranted as she shook the vile in her hand.

"I... I know..." Ruby said through coughs as the Dust filled the air.

"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!" The girl demanded.

With all the Dust in the air, filling her nostrils, Ruby was about to sneeze, when suddenly, a finger was pressed up to her nose to block it and the vile was kneed out of Weiss' hand, over a head of white hair, almost hitting the ground, but the mysterious savior threw his foot back and kicked the vile lack a hackey-sack, back over the person's head and into his hand. "Well, what do YOU have to say for yourself, Weiss? Shaking around Dust like that isn't very safe. You're supposed to be the responsible one, remember?" Dante asked as he looked to his twin.

"Dante?!" Weiss said in shock at how her twin appeared from nowhere and disarmed her of her Dust. "This girl sent all my Dust flying! Who knows how much damage she could've caused?!" She said to justify her actions.

"But she didn't, so who cares? Besides, you would've cause just as much shaking this Dust around like it was salt, especially with such a loose cap.. Maybe you need to go back and read one of those 'Dust for Dummies' packets." He said, pushing it down and shaking it once himself, nodding in satisfaction that no more Dust escaped.

Weiss scoffed at this. "Oh, be quiet! It probably came loose when SHE sent it flying!" Weiss said, giving her brother a punch in the chest (which didn't even faze him), glaring back at Ruby once again.

"She said she was sorry, princess. Let it go." Bayonetta said as she walked back up. "Sorry, sis. It took me a little bit to get away from Yang. Are you okay?" She asked, before looking to the white-haired boy standing between her sister and the girl relentlessly berating her, raising her eyebrows in interest.

It was apparently mutual, as she could see his eyes running up and down her body. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything. "It's heiress actually." They all heard, looking to the side to see a new girl in mostly black walking up. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world. And her brother Dante Schnee." She explained.

"Finally! Some recognition!" Weiss said smugly.

"We're famous. I'm surprised it took that long." Dante said with a shrug.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Blake said bluntly.

"Wha- How dare you- The nerve of... Ugh!" Weiss grumbled before storming off.

Dante narrowed his eyes at the girl for a moment, before shrugging. He knew his family had a bad rap for faunus labor and while he felt bad about it, there was nothing he could do about it. He had no current stake in the company. He was honestly more offended by how the remark angered Weiss than the remark itself. "I guess I'll see you guys later." He said, taking a step and looking at Bayonetta. "Especially you." He said.

"Looking forward to it." She said with a smile.

He then caught up with his sister. "You know, you're not making friends with that attitude." He told her.

"I'm here to be a huntress. Not to make friends." She said simply.

"Really? Because I saw more than just anger when you were looking at her. She might not have noticed it, but I definitely saw you were checking her out!" Dante said teasingly.

Weiss' whole body turned bright red from blushing at her brother's comment. "Oh, be quiet LITTLE brother!" She snapped.

"20 seconds, it's not that big a deal." Dante said.

"I promise I'll make it up to you!" They heard Ruby call after them.

"Well, that's a nice offer, huh?" Dante said in a sly, inappropriate tone.

"Just...! Urgh!" Weiss said, crossing her arms and storming off.

"Looks like I'm not the only one having a rough first day." Ruby said sadly, before perking up and turning towards the girl who had inadvertently saved her from Weiss' wrath. "So, what's your...?" She started to ask, before noticing the girl walked away. Ruby sighed at this before collapsing on the ground. "Welcome to Beacon." She said sadly.

Bayonetta sighed at this. "Come on, Ruby. It's not that bad. Come on, let's go." Bayonetta said, reaching down to help her sister up, but suddenly, a somewhat familiar blonde boy walked up and also extended a hand to help her up.

"Hey... I'm Jaune." He said.

"Jeanne?" Bayonetta said quietly, remembering her former Umbran sister.

"Ruby..." Ruby introduced herself. She then let out a small chuckle as she noticed something. "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?" She asked.

* * *

Beacon inside the walls are filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road alongside a river, down which Bayonetta, Ruby and Jaune are walking.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune defended himself.

"If you say so. You wound up puking on our sister's shoes, so I can be happy you had it." Bayonetta said, still annoyed how Yang left Ruby and dragged Bayonetta along with her.

Ruby laughed a bit at this before responding. "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind." She said.

"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?" He asked.

"Then I'd throw you in that river." Bayonetta said with her eyes narrowing, flicking her head towards the river to prove her point.

"Okay! Sorry!" He said, flinching.

"Besides, that explosion was an accident!" She said.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!" Jaune said.

"Do they?" Ruby asked skeptically.

"For some reason, I doubt that." Bayonetta said.

"They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind." He said.

"That logic will almost always fail you." Bayonetta said.

An awkward silence began to fall, which Ruby evidently didn't like. "So... I got this thing!" she said, pulling out Crescent Rose and stabbing it into the ground.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" He asked in shock.

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!" She said proudly.

"A-wha...?" He asked, confused.

Ruby cocks it and smiled as Bayonetta leaned in. "It's also a gun." The sisters said together.

"Oh. That's cool!" He said excitedly.

"Bayonetta, show him some of yours!" Ruby said excitedly.

"I have a feeling you just want to see my weapons again." Bayonetta said, looking at Ruby suspiciously, raising a brow.

Ruby giggled. "Guilty." She said.

Bayonetta sighed. "Very well." She said, pulling out Chernobog.

"Whoa! You guys must like scythes... This one looks scarier, though." Jaune said, looking nervously at the menacing triple blades.

"Well, looks like I win, sis." Bayonetta said, pinching Ruby's cheek.

Ruby shook her sister's hand away and pouted, before looking back at Jaune. "So what've you got?" Ruby asked.

"Oh! I, uh..." He stammered, unsheathes a blade. "I got this sword!" He said.

"Ooooohh!" Ruby said, impressed.

"Not too shabby.

Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" He said, getting his scabbard, raising his arm and expands the metal into his shield.

"So, what do they do?" Ruby asked, touching the shield.

This touch somehow disrupted the shield, as it retracts off Jaune's arm, expands, and retracts again before he finally manages to put it back in place and shrinking it down for good, putting it back on his belt. "The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just... put it away..." He explained.

"But... wouldn't it weigh the same?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, it does..." He said dejectedly

"It still beats carrying it. It's hands free at least." Bayonetta said.

"Thank you!" Jaune said, jumping back to eager and excited once again.

Ruby giggled at this. "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo... I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it." She admitted.

"Wait - you made that?!" He said in disbelief.

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Even if some are too lazy to make their own now." Ruby said, looking at her sister, teasingly.

"I just work smarter, not harder. Now I have a bunch of FREE weapons I didn't have to make myself." Bayonetta countered.

Ruby rolled her eyes at this. "Didn't you make yours?" She asked Jaune.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the War." He admitted.

"Well, that sounds like A LOT more than a hand-me-down to me." Bayonetta said.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Ruby said, laughing. "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days." She said.

"Yeah, the classics..." He said, sheathing his sword.

Bayonetta sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know, when you carry those weapons of yours, you're not just carrying pieces of metal, you're carrying the pride of your family name and the honor that comes along with those weapons used by heroes in the past." She said supportively, winking at the end.

Jaune was shocked at this. He'd never thought of it like that before. He just thought of his parents simply giving him the weapon, not having earned it. "Wow... Thanks..." He said as the wisdom sank in.

Ruby was also shocked at her sister's support of a relative stranger and words of wisdom. However, she shrugged it off as they started walking again. "So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?" She asked.

"Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'" He said.

"That's a little too optimistic. Make sure to pair common sense with that theory." Bayonetta said.

"Hmm." Ruby said in thought, before looking around. "Hey, where are we going?" She asked.

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you." He admitted. "Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark? Is, uh... Is that a 'no'?" He asked as Ruby started to laugh.

"That's a 'no'." She confirmed.

* * *

"Dammit, Yang." Bayonetta cursed her older twin, before sniffing the air. "Oh. Speak of the devil." She said.

"What's wrong, sis?" Ruby asked.

"I just caught a whiff of Yang's cheap perfume. If we're lucky, she's in the auditorium and we can follow her scent there." Bayonetta said. Amazingly, Bayonetta's keen sense of smell actually managed to get them to the auditorium where, after a few moments of looking around, the girls did see their older sister, who waved them over. "Ruby! Bayonetta! Over here! I saved you both a spot!" Yang called.

"Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby said, hurrying over to Yang.

"Another time, Jaune. Stay handsome." Bayonetta said, giving him a few soft taps on the cheek before sauntering over to her sisters.

Jaune was shocked at her flirtatious actions and the fact she called him handsome, somehow not even realizing as she walked away until the last minute."Hey, wait!" He called after them, sighing when they didn't come back. "Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?!" He complained. However, when he walked off, it revealed a certain red-haired girl who NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENED TO, standing near the wall with her bald brother, a hand on her hips as she watched the blond boy walk away..

"Don't waste your time with him, Pyrrha. He doesn't even look like he knows how to hold that sword on his belt." Kratos criticized.

Pyrrha let out a good-natured scoff as she rolled her eyes at her brother's words. "Well, I see potential in him. What about you? Anyone here look like a fitting teammate for the 'walking armory.'" She asked teasingly, referring to him by his tournament nickname.

"I've noticed a few people who have... piqued my interest, yes." He said, looking to 3 people in particular: a boy with brown hair in a ponytail dressed in all black with several weapons visible on his person, standing between a bouncy orange-haired girl and mellow black-haired boy, a white-haired boy with a large sword, a few large guns and what appeared to be an electric guitar on his back and a girl dressed in all black with several weapons visible on her as well... and were those guns attached to her heels?

Back to the sister, Yang tried to welcome them back warmly despite their annoyed expressions. "How's your first day going, little sisters?" She asked.

"You mean since you _ditched_ me and I almost _exploded_?" Ruby said accusingly.

"And for dragging me along with your friends you know I don't like." Bayonetta said.

"You know you love them." She said teasingly, then looked to Ruby. "But jeez, meltdown, already?" She asked.

"No! I literally almost exploded!" Ruby said.

"Some girl had Dust, Ruby tripped over her things and the girl never stopped bitching while shaking the Dust in Ruby's face." Bayonetta said.

"Bitching?!" Weiss snapped.

"Oh, god, it's happening again!" Ruby cried, jumping into Bayonetta's arms.

"Look, she said sorry, back off." Bayonetta said.

"It was an accident!" Ruby said as she got down from Bayonetta's arms.

Weiss simply responded by shoving a pamphlet titled "DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals" in her face. "You're going the right way for a heel up your ass, Princess." Bayonetta threatened.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "The Schnee Dust Company-" She started, but the pamphlet was pulled out of her hand by her brother again. "Dante!" She said in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"The Schnee twins would like to offer our apology for the way she's behaved here, today. Right, sis?" He asked, looking at Weiss with a smirk. She simply huffed and turned away from him. "Come on, make nice." He said, before leaning in. "That's no way to get that girl to like you." He said in a more teasing tone.

She turned deep red in a blush again, before taking in a deep breath, turning back to her natural pale color and facing the 3 sisters. "I apologize for my reactions today. Just try to be more careful," She said to Ruby, before turning to Bayonetta, "And respectful, in the future." She said, before storming off.

"Well, she seems charming." Bayonetta said.

Dante chuckled at this. "I like to think I'm the charming one. She's more of the perfect student. She'll warm up to you eventually... Probably." He said unsurely at the end, looking back to his sister worriedly.

"I think I'd rather warm up to you." Bayonetta said slyly, poking his chest.

"SIS!" Ruby screamed in embarrassment while Yang chuckled.

"That's our girl!" She said.

Dante chuckled at this. "I wouldn't mind that. See you around, baby." He said, giving a 2-fingered salute in farewell, before heading back to his sister. "Looks like we've both met a couple of nice girls for once." He said.

"Oh, please." Weiss said rolling her eyes.

"You never know. I hear this place is gonna split us up into teams. You might wind up on a team with one of them. So you should learn to play nice." Dante said.

"I'm worried you'll play TOO nice." Weiss said.

"You know me so well, sis." Dante said.

She was about to berate her brother for being a womanizer (as she's done many times in the past), but Ozpin then walked up to the microphone and began to speak.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."He said as the students began to whisper among themselves.

"Wasted energy?" Kratos demanded, quietly, but angrily.

"We already had purpose and direction before we came here." Ryu said from where he was, crossing his arms.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He said.

"I'm not quite sure I followed that, but it feels like he insulted us." Dante said to Weiss

"I don't know whether to be inspired, or offended." Bayonetta said.

"He seemed kind of... off." Yang said.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby agreed.

* * *

The first night at Beacon, students are splayed out in sleeping bags. Ruby, in her pajamas and with a sleeping mask around her head, is writing in a journal with Bayonetta laying beside her on her back, with her hands behind her head, dressed in black silk pajamas. Yang then crashes next to them, similarly dressed. "It's like a biiig slumber party!" She said excitedly.

"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby said.

"I know I do." The twins said together, purring at a group of shirtless boys, before groaning as Jaune blocked their eye candy, dressed in bunny feetie pajamas.

"What's that?" Yang asked as she saw Ruby writing in her journal.

"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going." She explained.

"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang said teasingly, before being knocked back as a pillow is launched at her face.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" Ruby said with a pout.

"What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase! Then there's that Dante guy..." Yang said, getting a sly expression towards the end.

"You are about to cross boundaries, dear sister." Bayonetta said warningly.

Ruby turned onto her back, still depressed. "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..." She said.

"You're better off, Ruby. Trust me when I say, it's best to ignore the haters." Bayonetta said reassuringly.

"There's no such things as negative friends! You just made one friend and one enemy!" Yang said, trying and failing to make her feel better, before being hit with another pillow, this time looking like a dog, to the face. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!" She said.

"AND you can do it at your own pace like you did in Signal." Bayonetta said, giving her twin an annoyed look. She, too, wanted her sister to make friends, but unlike Yang, she didn't want to force her into it.

The three sisters notice a candle being lighted nearby, and Blake Belladonna is seen leaning against a wall, reading her book. "That girl..." Ruby said.

"You know her?" Yang asked.

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang said, grabbing Ruby's arm and lifting her up.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby asked as she was pulled along.

Bayonetta pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head at Yang's insistence. "Does she EVER listen to me?" She asked, following her sisters.

Blake looks over her book to see Ruby unsuccessfully struggling against Yang's grip as she leads her sister over to Blake's spot before letting go.

"Hel-looooo!" Yang said in sing-song. "I believe you two may know each other?" She said, gesturing towards Ruby, who now stood faced away from the girls with her arms crossed.

"Aren't you... that girl Weiss kept yelling at?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater..." She struggled to make conversation with an embarrassed smile. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby." She said

"Okay." Blake said, never looking up from her book.

"She's reading a book, girls. I'm sure she'd like to be alone." Bayonetta said, both to help Ruby out of the awkward situation and to let Blake get back to her book. It might be from reading the Bible so much during her previous life, but Bayonetta had always enjoyed reading and hated whenever someone disturbed her. For once, besides initially looking up at Ruby, Blake looked up from her book at Bayonetta, mouthing out "thank you".

Yang: (whispering to Ruby) What are you doing?

Ruby: (whispering back) I don't know - help me! (goes back to smiling)

"So... What's your name?" Yang asked.

Blake sighed as she was distracted yet again. "Blake." She answered,

"They never listen." Bayonetta said, shaking her head.

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister!" She said, before looking back at Bayonetta. "And the grumpy one there is my younger twin, Bay-" She started.

"Bayonetta or Cereza, take your pick." She said, smirking at Yang's annoyance. She hated it whenever Bayonetta stole her introduction. "Sorry about this, by the way." She apologized.

"At least you tried." She said, still not looking up from her book.

Yang groaned in annoyance, before turning back to Blake. "I like your bow!" Yang added.

"Thanks!" Blake said, although she was clearly irritated.

"It goes great with your... pajamas!" Yang kept trying.

"Right..." Blake said.

"Clearly, you're running out of talking points. It's time to give up." Bayonetta said. At this point, she was trying to end the conversation out of common decency.

"Never!" Yang said, pointing in her face as Ruby laughed uncomfortably. She then turned back to Blake. "Nice night, don't you think?" She asked.

"Yes - it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!" Blake said as Ruby and Yang stand there.

"She could not be more obvious, anymore! She wants us to leave!" Bayonetta said. Now things were just getting embarrassing.

"That I will continue to read." She said. Ruby and Yang continue standing there. "As soon as you leave!" She said.

"I was wrong. She could be more obvious, but now she can't. Leave her alone." Bayonetta said, starting to walk away. At this point, it's all she could do to at least remove herself from the situation.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang said to Ruby.

"What's it about?" Ruby asked.

"Huh?" Blake asked, surprised. Bayonetta turned back as well.

"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby asked.

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Blake explained.

"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang said sarcastically. She never cared much for books.

"Of course you don't care. All you read are are work out magazines and that's just to look at the guys." Bayonetta said.

"I love books. Bayonetta used to read to me every night before bed. Yang would read sometimes, too. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!" Ruby said. Bayonetta smiled at this, feeling somewhat proud of her sister... and partly herself.

Blake laughed a little at this. "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" She asked.

"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!" Ruby explained.

"That's... very ambitious for a child." Blake said with a smile.

"I like to think she's wise beyond her years." Bayonetta said.

"Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Blake finished her thought

"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better." Ruby said optimistically.

"How sweet." Bayonetta said, admiring her sister's optimism and upbeat nature.

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang said happily, hugging Ruby into the air.

Ruby started kicking out to escape her sister's grasp. "Cut it out!" Ruby demanded, punching Yang in the face. The forced sisterly bonding evolved into a dust cloud of fighting limbs and flying stars.

"And they were doing so well." Bayonetta said, face-palming.

Blake laughed slightly at this. "Well, Ruby, Yang, Bayonetta. it's a pleasure to ha-" She started, before...

Weiss stormed onto the scene in her own pajamas as Ruby trapped Yang's leg. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Weiss, Bayonetta and Yang: (at the sight of each other) Oh, not you again!

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby said nervously.

"Oh, now you're on my side!?" Weiss demanded.

"I was always on your side!" The younger girl defended herself.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang snapped.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss snapped back.

"No, I believe you're thinking of me." Bayonetta said threateningly.

Back from where Weiss had been, Dante shook his head and rolled his eyes, looking to Kratos, who was the only other person nearby either still awake or paying attention to the squabble. "Sisters, right?" He said, to which Kratos scoffed, but nodded in agreement.

Blake rolled her eyes at the fight, simply closing her book, reaching over to grabbing her candle, and blew it out, enveloping the scene in black.


	7. Preparing for the test

**Hey, guys! Sorry to keep you waiting, but here is the next chapter! Thank you for the support and I promise to try to make these updates more frequent. Also, to Awesome Guy, no worries, some of my earlier stories weren't that good but I also don't even remember your comments. And I must apologize, but Neptune will NOT be hooking up with Weiss in this fic. A: they pretty much ditched him and the rest of team SSSN at this point. B: he doesn't really deserve her to begin with and C: I've pretty much already heavily set up White Rose for this. Without further ado, let's get into this!**

* * *

Ryu woke up with a small groan as he saw Nora standing over him, zipping back and forth between him and Ren. "Wake up, lazy butts!" She said, popping up all around them. "It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" She sang, then popped up beside Ryu and held his arm. "And a VERY good morning to you, Ryu." She said.

"Yes, Nora. It is indeed a nice morning. But it's also a big one we should start preparing for." He said, getting up and helping Ren to his feet.

The scene changes to the bathroom, where Ren brushes his teeth, Ryu was rinsing with mouthwash and Nora was still talking, though she had toothpaste and a toothbrush, so she at least, planned to brush her teeth. "I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you two are the perfect students and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?" She asked. The scene changes to the ballroom, where the three are readying themselves. Ryu is doing push-ups with Nora sitting on his back, brushing her hair and still chattering while Ren is tightening the strings on his sleeping bag. "We've been friends for _soooooooo_ long! What are the odds we'd still be together?" She asked.

"We made a promise to protect each other as long as we needed each other. That hasn't changed any time soon." Ryu said.

"Right, but I NEVER would've guessed you and me would also get, like 'together-together'..." She started, before an idea popped into her head. "Ooh! Maybe while we're here we can find someone for Ren! You deserves a girlfriend, I mean, you're handsome and everything..." She said.

Ryu stopped his push-ups, looking at his girlfriend sitting on his back. "I don't think that's a good idea." He said.

Ren's eyes snapped open in surprise and fear of Nora's idea. "Uh... Let's not do that..." Ren said. Both boys knew absolute LAST thing Ren would want would be Nora picking his girlfriend. The bubbly girl had good intentions, but she was HORRIBLE at match-making. She had tried in one town in Mistral, which ended in the three of them being driven out of town by... less than satisfied customers.

The scene changes again as the three are in the middle of eating their breakfast... wait, they already brushed their teeth, do they not know the order of how this works?! You eat breakfast, THEN you brush your teeth. They're just dirtying their teeth all over again. That's like drying your hair, then taking a shower! Anyway, Nora having a pancake hanging from her mouth as she is still talking. "Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together!" she said, somewhat muffled through the pancake, which she then somehow SLURPED up. "Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He has the school." She said.

"It's also probably a good way to get us kicked out of the school." Ryu said.

"Indeed. You didn't think we'd get kicked out, but several of your plans most likely would." Ren agreed.

The scene changes again as the three are readying themselves in the locker room, Ryu checking his numerous weapons, Ren loading StormFlower and Nora still talking.

 **"** I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!" She said, before gasping. "A _secret_ signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can either of you imitate a sloth?"She asked.

"I've never heard a sloth make noise in my life." Ryu said. (Or the other one, for that matter.) He thought.

"Nora..." Ren said.

"Yes, Ren?" She asked, leaning in towards him.

He amazingly sheathed his guns up his sleeves before answering (seriously, I flipped out the first time I saw him do it and it's STILL cool!). "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." He said.

She stopped and thought about it for a moment before answering. "That's why it's PERFECT! No one will suspect we're working together!" She said.

Ryu smiled and shook his head at his girlfriend's air-headed-ness, before closing his locker. "You ready?" He asked Ren, who closed his own locker and nodded. "Come on, Nora, let's go." He said, the two of them following him, passing Ruby, Yang and Bayonetta along the way as they, too, prepared themselves.

"Wonder what those three are so worked up about?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!" Yang said happily at her sister's change in attitude.

"A definite improvement over yesterday." Bayonetta agreed with her twin.

"Yep! No more awkward small talk or 'getting-to-know-you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby said, stroking Crescent Rose as she sighed happily.

"Yes, I'm quite looking forward to giving my new weapons a proper test run. And large group of Grimm should be a better test than that barefooted bitch at the Dust Shop." Bayonetta said.

"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together." Yang said.

Ruby sighed in frustration, shoving Crescent Rose back in the locker. "You sound like DAD! Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!" She said confidently.

"Not THAT kind of growing. Maturing, growing as a person." Bayonetta said.

"But what about when we form teams?" Yang asked.

Ruby became slightly nervous at this. Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or Bayonetta's, or something." She said.

"I'm sure the two of us, plus two other would make a great team, sis." Bayonetta said, nodding in approval of Ruby's plan. If she was on her team, with two more, since she heard there would be teams of 4, that would be a good way to ease Ruby into making friends and she'd gradually make a large group of friends like she did in Signal.

"Thanks, sis!" Ruby said, hugging her middle sister, before the two looked back at Yang.

Yang brings her hair around her shoulder and strokes it nervously, nervous about Ruby's reaction to the idea she was about to suggest. "Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang suggested.

"You really do try to weasel your way out of everything." Bayonetta said, shaking her head in disapproval.

Ruby clearly wasn't a fan of the idea, either. "My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" She demanded.

"What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!" Yang suggested.

"Bad call." Bayonetta said, knowing how Ruby would react.

"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-" Ruby started.

Suddenly, Jaune walked by with a map, looking completely lost. "Ridiculous! There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today" He groaned, walking by Pyrrha, Weiss, Dante and Kratos, the girls having the lockers on the wall while their brothers had the lockers behind them in the middle of the room.

"Pathetic. How could he have POSSIBLY made it into this school?" Kratos asked, shaking his head, placing his swords on his back and slipping on his bracers.

"No clue, man. I don't see him lasting too long, though, if he can't even find his gear." Dante agreed, pulling out his modest arsenal. The two looked at the number of weapons the other carried and nodded in silent approval.

Meanwhile, Weiss had a plan in mind for Kratos' sister. "So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!" She said, clearly brown-nosing the taller girl.

"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I'd like to be on the same team as my brother, but I've heard the teams are comprised of 4 members, so beyond Kratos, I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." She said.

Weiss looked back at Kratos, and smirked when she saw him interacting with Dante, turning back to Pyrrha with a bright smile. "It seems our brothers are getting along quite well. Perhaps both of them could join us on a team!" She suggested eagerly.

"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha said. Truth be told, she was quite eager to see what Dante was capable.

"Great!" Weiss said happily. Suddenly, she turned her back to the champion girl behind her, the background disappears into a thundercloud as Weiss adopts a scheming pose and manic smile in her head. (This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl and two strongest boys in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!) She thought evilly.

Dante noticed the scheming look on his sister's face and sighed, shaking his head. "She's coming up with some crazy plan again." He said, rolling his eyes, before thinking of something. "Hey, Jaune." He called, the blonde boy hearing his name and walking over.

"Oh. Y-yeah, what's up?" He asked.

"Hey, listen, don't tell her I told you this, but my sister over there has a bit of a crush on you. Why don't you go over and try your luck." He suggested, flicking his head back towards Weiss.

"Really?" He said in as good of a suave tone as he could, walking over and leaning against the lockers, trying to get Weiss' attention. "You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc." He said.

"I don't approve of this plan." Kratos said.

"Eh. Sometimes Weiss needs to be put in check. You let her get too out of control, there's no reigning her in. Trust me, I found that out the hard way." Dante explained.

"You again" Weiss asked, irritated, as Jaune had tried last night to get her attention while in his feetie pajamas.

Pyrrha quickly jumped in at this moment. She was interested in Dante on a combat level, but something about Jaune intrigued her on a personal level. "Nice to meet you, Jaune!" She said.

"Yeah, yeah." He said indifferently, pushing Pyrrha aside to talk to Weiss, posing slightly.

"Now he dies!" Kratos snapped, about to storm up to Jaune, but Dante struggled to hold him back.

"No! No, not yet! No need to kill him! It's not like he punched her or anything!" Dante said, pulling him back.

"So, Weiss, I've been told that you were pretty fond of me. Not surprised, really." He said, sounding incredibly full of himself.

"Maybe this was a mistake." Dante said.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me!" She said, glaring at Dante, who shrugged.

"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?" He asked.

"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-" Pyrrha started after getting his attention.

Playing the field WAY too hard, Jaune jumped from hitting on Weiss to trying to hit on Pyrrha. "You don't say. Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team." He said.

"I will murder you if you touch my sister!" Kratos roared, trying once again to destroy the scrawny blonde, but Dante once again held him back.

Still, it was more than enough to scare Jaune. "Okay, okay! I'll leave her alone!" He said, taking a few steps away from her.

"You weren't qualified to be her teammate, anyway. Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"Weiss asked.

Jaune's suave persona came rushing back as he returned his attention to Weiss. "Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." Jaune said.

"This is Pyrrha." Weiss introduced the Spartan-looking girl.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha said with a wave.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!" Weiss explained.

"How... does she know that?" Kratos asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, my sister's getting a little stalk-y here." Dante said, equally uncomfortable.

"Never heard of it." Jaune said.

"For real?" Both reincarnated warriors said with deadpanned expressions. Sanctum was a fairly well known beginner school. It's like the Beacon of starter combat school.

Weiss scoffed at this _._ "She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!" Weiss continued.

"Well, my brother was a big help with that." Pyrrha said modestly.

"The what?" Jaune asked again.

"I'm going to murder him. I'm going to rip his head off like I did to Helios." Kratos said.

Weiss was furious at this, flailing her arms angrily. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" She snapped.

FINALLY, Jaune undestood, gasping in shock. "That's _you_?! But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!" He said in shock and excitement as the design of the cereal box in question is seen with Pyrrha's smiling face on it to the left, Kratos to the right with his back to the front, but he turned his head enough to see most of his face.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." Pyrrha said.

"Tastes terrible. I had to drop the sponsorship, I couldn't stomach it in the commercials." Kratos explained to Dante.

"Oh, trust me, I know." Dante said. In the past with his father's... less than reliable business deals, Dante had to associate with a number of people and things he would otherwise never want to be anywhere near.

Weiss reappeared as the box design crumbled behind them _._ "So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask _her_ to be on your team?" She asked.

"I guess not... Sorry..." Jaune said deflatedly.

"At least he knows when he's not good enough." Kratos said, flicking his head back arrogantly.

Pyrrha gave her brother a small glare, before looking back at the depressed blonde in front of her. "Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!" She said supportively.

Jaune immediately brightened back up. "D'oh, stop it!" He said girlishly, to which Kratos and Dante face-palmed.

"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" Weiss scolded.

"It really shouldn't, I regret my decision." Dante said.

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune asked, leaning in towards Weiss.

"Okay, now I'm gonna kill him." Dante said, reaching for Rebellion.

Weiss backed away at this. "All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!" She asked, looking back at Jaune.

Jaune looks back just in time to see Milo strike him, sending the would-be leader flying off the screen. "I'm sorry." Pyrrha called after him.

"I'm not." Dante said.

Suddenly, Glynda's voice came over the PA system. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.

Weiss, Dante and Kratos pass Jaune as he hangs from the wall of a locker on her way out. "Yeah... I lied about that, sorry." Dante said.

"Stay away from my sister." Kratos warned, doing a mock lunge at Jaune, who flinched.

Pyrrha followed them, grabbing her spear and dropping Jaune to the ground. "It was nice meeting you!" She said brightly, before leaving.

"Likewise..." He said sadly as he slumped down against the wall.

"Having some trouble there, lover boy?" Yang asked as the 3 sisters walked up.

"I certainly hope your initial approach doesn't always end with a weapon being drawn." Bayonetta said.

"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?" He asked, taking Ruby's hand so she could help him up.

"Snow angel probably wasn't the best start." Yang said.

"Getting in her face, flirting with another girl at the same time and acting like you were the greatest thing since Dust likely didn't help your cause, either." Bayonetta said.

"Come on, Jaune, let's go." Ruby said, helping to support the blonde and his damaged pride.

The scene opens to the Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, where several students — some old, some new, and some unseen — are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin and Glynda with her tablet. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He explained, stepping back and allowing Glynda to take over.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... TODAY." She said, to which Ruby groaned.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin continued, to which Ruby groaned even more. " That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." He finished.

Ruby had an absolutely shocked expression on her face, her world shattering like glass. "WHAT?!" She said in disbelief. (It worked out in the end, but I kind of agree. How do you know if you can work well with someone if your stuck together from the moment of eye contact? The first person I ever made eye contact in school gave me a bloody nose on the first day! And I gave him 2 black eyes).

"How is that going to work?" Kratos asked, confused.

Dante simply shrugged and chuckled. "I'm up for the mystery element. Sounds fun." He said.

"See? I _told_ you!" Nora said to Ryu.

"It seems like a long-shot, but not impossible." He said.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you WILL die." Ozpin continued, Jaune laughing nervously as Bayonetta licked her lips. "You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" He finished.

"Uh, Yeah, I-" Jaune started.

"No! No questions." Kratos said over Jaune.

"Good! Now take your positions." Ozpin said.

Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Kratos takes his classic fighting stance, Dante reaching back with his right hand to grab Rebellion's hilt and holding Ivory in his left hand, Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Ryu take the traditional "nin" pose (one or (in this case) both hands together in front of him, middle and pointer finger extended, eyes closed) Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, Bayonetta takes her Smash Bros. victory pose and Jaune is still raising his hand.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Jaune said, missing the tile under Weiss rising up into a springboard, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line _._ "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something" He asked

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin answered.

Jaune still missed several other students being launched as he looks at Ozpin, both confused and nervous. "Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked.

Dante dropped his stance and looked at Jaune with an "are you stupid?!" look on his face. "Come on, man! Even you would have noticed if they handed out para-" He started, before his tile launched him into the forest.

"No. You will be using your own 'landing strategy.'" Ozpin said.

Jaune is still confused and STILL doesn't notice as Nora, Ren and Ryu are launched into the forest. "U-uh... Yeah..." He said nervously.

At her turn, Yang winked at her younger sisters, putting on a pair of aviators, and flew off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!". Bayonetta also blew Ruby a kiss before she was launched a second before Ruby joined her.

"So, what exactly is a landing strateg **YYY**!" He started to ask, before screaming as he was finally launched into the forest. Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink before the scene goes black.

* * *

 **And there you have it, folks! Sorry this chapter might be on the short side, but the next chapter will have plenty of action and excitement! And the results of the poll are in. It was VERY close at the end, but he results will speak for themselves... in the next chapter! Enjoy the suspense!**


	8. Team SCRN is born!

A black bird is flying slowly and magnificently, right up to the moment it gives a final shriek and Ruby crashes through it in a burst of feathers as she plummets downward.

"Birdie, no!" Ruby cried as she continued to plummet. She fired off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow her down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace. Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summoned a white snowflake circle under her and leapt off of it to the forest below. Ren descended (with Nora briefly being seen next to him at a faster speed) and spun in the air, eventually using StormFlower's blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up to see...

"Woo-hoo! Yeah! Alley-oop!"

Yang, soaring right over the treetops, is using her gauntlets and its fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashes through the leaves of a tree and leaps off two trunks to tumble to the ground.

"Nailed it!" She said before running off.

Pyrrha, her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashed through several trees and rolled on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he continues to scream and fall helplessly. Pyrrha coolly transformed her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the javelin deep into the forest until a "THUNK!" is heard.

"Thank you!" Jaune called in the distance.

"I'm sorry!" She called back, waving despite not being able to see him, so he wouldn't be able to see her.

In the middle of the forest, Ruby lands in a crouch, then darts off with a single mantra in her mind. (I gotta find either Yang or Bayonetta, maybe both!) She thought. "Yaaaang! Bayonetta?! Where are you?!" She called out. (Where could they be?) She wondered.

At this time, Bayonetta began to descend into the forest, when she noticed a long beowulf prowling the forest, almost directly where she calculated she'd land. "Perfect!" She said, extending her legs, slamming them into the unfortunate Grimm and using its body to break her fall, before aiming her guns at its head. "Thanks for the soft landing. Now you can take a nice long nap." She said, unloading into its head. "Now, then. I SHOULD start looking for Ruby... but I'd rather look for that Dante boy." She said, licking her lips and sauntering into the forest.

Further away, Kratos also began to descend, throwing out his swords and chains out and latching onto a branch above him, swinging and jumping at the top of the swing, slowly his descent, but maximizing his jump, latching and jumping to several lower branches until he could reach the ground without injury. "Alright, now I'd better find Pyrrha before that Jaune punk does." He said. Suddenly, he heard Jaune's dazed thanks in the distance, followed by Pyrrha's apology. "Brilliant..." He said sarcastically and annoyed, starting to take a few steps, before an ursai emerged from the forest and bloacked his path. "Out of my way, beast! I need to stop my sister from partnering with someone she's WAY too good for!" He snapped.

Suddenly, he and the Ursai looked up as they heard a voice in the air. "YA-HOO!" Dante shouted, before apparently seeing Kratos and the Ursai, creating a glyph in the air in front of him and swinging his legs forward, planting his feet on the glyph and back-flipping off of it, firing several bulllets down at the Ursai from his pistols while spinning in the air, weakening the monster and making it drop to its stomach. It struggled in an attempt to stand again, but this attempt along with the Ursai was torn apart when Dante crashed down on it with Rebellion. He then looked up at Kratos. "Well... Not who I was looking for, but not the worst option." He said with a shrug.

Kratos scoffed at this, letting the minor insult go, as he was more annoyed that now he couldn't partner with Pyrrha and keep her away from Jaune. "I SUPPOSE I could say the same about you. Let's go." He said, walking past Dante and bumping into his shoulder on purpose as a way to say "Don't push me".

"Oh, this is gonna be fun." Dante said.

Elsewhere, similarly to Kratos, Ryu had descended into the forest in the taller trees, spinning around and swinging off several branches to slow his fall, before seeing a beowulf, jumping to it and grabbing its shoulder in mid-air to stop himself and pull himself behind the beowulf, brining out the Dragon Sword and stabbing it through the chest, before throwing it to the ground to disappear. "Cursed beasts." He said.

"Well, that was pretty impressive." Bayonetta said, stepping out from the treeline.

"So, I suppose this makes us partners." Ryu said. He would've rather partnered with Nora, but this girl looked quite capable as well. She had all those weapons, so she most likely knew how to use them.

"I guess it does. Don't worry, though. I'm pretty easy to work with. And I like to think it's also pretty fun to work with me." She said sassily as she walked past him, twirling one of her pistols.

"I already have a girlfriend, if you're trying to flirt with me." He warned.

"That's fine. I had my sights set on someone else, anyway." She said.

And so the two pairs continued to the forest, Dante leading him and Kratos around with guesses while Ryu's heightened ninja senses lead them to the shrine. However, it wasn't long before they ran into trouble. The first ones to have confrontation was Dante and Kratos. After a while of walking, Dante smelled the air. "You smell that?" He asked.

Kratos sniffed the air as well. "The air's heavy with smoke. Some idiot must've lit the forest on fire fighting the Grimm." He confirmed.

"Some people, just attack without thinking of the consequences." Dante agreed.

 **Background Music: "This is War" by 30 Seconds to Mars**

Suddenly, the two of them ran into a large group of beowulves that had run away from the fire and the Grimm immediately surrounded them, eager to attack these new targets in place of the ones that had gotten away. "Well, now I get to see if you know how to use those swords." Dante said.

"Just don't get in my way." Kratos said.

One beowulf ran in from behind Kratos while 3 rushed in at Dante. Dante quickly made a glyph under his feet and slid forward, using his stinger attack to impale the beowulf running at Kratos, who responded by swinging his blades at the 3 that had rushed at Dante, before quickly sheathing his blades and turning his bracers into the Cestus, slamming it into the face of another charging beowulf. Dante was then surrounded by 5 more beowulves in a tight circle, but simply smirked at this. "I always loved it when this happens." He said, pulling out his shotgun and cocking it with a fist pumping motion, before whipping it around like nunchaku and firing it at the same time, blasting the Grimm away and sending them flying. The two jumped back to back as the remaining 10 closed in. "Hey, I got an idea." Dante said, pulling out Cerberus and tossing it into the air. "Catch!" He said.

Kratos swung one of his swords and caught the weapon by the ring connecting the 3 rods, Dante jumping/backflipping into the air as Kratos spun while swinging their weapons, hitting and freezing the beowulves, flinging Cerberus back up to Dante and transforming his blades into uzis as Dante pulled out Spiral shooting one beowulf and causing the bullet to ricochet off of 3 others as Kratos slowly turned while unloading his guns, the bullets breaking off and shattering large pieces of the frozen enemies while 4 Dante shot had completely shattered.

"Nice shooting." Dante said as they looked around. "Wait a second... It feels like we missed one." Dante said, looking around. Even though shattered and fading, their bodies were closely piled where they died and Dante only counted 9 piles around the same size. There should've been one more larger pile. "Where's the alpha?" He asked, unaware as the creature suddenly rushed out and lunged at him.

"Watch out!" Kratos said, pushing him out of the way and blocking it. Dante then blasted the alpha in the chest, knocking it onto its back and sending it skidding a few feet away, but not killing it. This was quickly corrected, however, when Kratos once again transformed his bracers into gauntlets, jumping and slamming his right fist down on its head, smashing it.

"Thanks." He said, looking back at the billowing smoke. "That makes me wonder how my sister's doing... And that Bayonetta chick. I wouldn't mind seeing her in action." He said, before they continued on their path.

Elsewhere...

Bayonetta and Ryu both jumped back away from their enemies, now standing with their backs together with their dual swords drawn as they faced a group of Creeps. The monsters charged at the two warriors and they attacked the monsters, able to fight and take note of each other's fighting styles in the process: Bayonetta's wild and flashy, yet effective moves and Ryu's trained and precise moves. A Creep rushed at Bayonetta from the side, forcing her to backflip, using her semblance to bring the monsters to a stop, turning the swords into shotguns and blasting the one that rushed her in the face. Suddenly, Ryu moved at normal speeds and with a wide swipe, decapitated 7 more of the monsters, unaffected by her semblance. "You're immune to my semblance?" She asked.

"It alters time. I have a similar ability, so I used it to negate the effects of your semblance only on me." He explained.

"So, in other words..." She said, looking at the still frozen Grimm.

"They're sitting ducks for the both of us." He said, rushing in with tonfas and smashing a few of their skulls, combining them into a machine gun and unloading on several of the Creeps.

"This partner thing just became a lot more fun." She said, pulling out her scythe and slashing through several Grimm, restarting time, before aiming the rifle part at them and firing at them the same time as Ryu. The monsters were dead before they could even figure out what happened.

 **End Music**

"Not bad at all." He told her.

"You're quite capable yourself. You've definitely got your share of surprises. I kinda wanna see what else you can do." She said.

"I'll try not to disappoint you." He said.

Back on the cliff, Glynda was observing the students over her scrolls. "The last pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy... I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos." She said, flipping to them on her scroll and confirming she had met up and paired with Jaune despite Kratos' best wishes.

"Hm..." Ozping simply replied.

"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." She said, deactivating her scroll and walking up to him. " I guess we'll find out soon enough. Or, if he's lucky, he'll be able to team up with those more advanced first years, like those boys Kratos and Dante. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes." She said, before looking at him. "Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?" She asked. Silence _._ "Professor Ozpin?

Ozpin didn't answer, as he was paying attention to his own scroll, watching as Dante and Kratos trekked through the forest. While the two weren't directly at each other's throats, they didn't seem to particularly be getting along.

"So... How do you think your sister's doing? Think she got lost yet? Or anyone else for that matter?" Dante asked.

Kratos scoffed at this. "Pyrrha wouldn't get herself lost. She doesn't just wander aimlessly, she has a great sense of direction. I taught her everything she knows, which is everything I know. The only POSSIBLE way she could get lost is if she paired up with that Jaune idiot and he got them lost, but she wouldn't just blindly follow someone if she thought they were going the wrong way." He said.

"Okay, okay, I get it! You take pride in helping your sister be a warrior, I'll get you a medal. I was just asking. Knowing my sister, she's probably got her partner following her in circles." Dante said. Ironically enough, they themselves were going the wrong way. They had actually flown over the temple and were heading North when the temple was South of them.

"Speaking of which, I have a feeling YOU don't know where we're going, either. I'm letting you lead for now, but more than 10 minutes of this and we're turning back. Every voice in my head is telling me we should turn around and head back the way we came." Kratos said.

"Oh, please. I KNOW I'm going the right way. There is NO reason for us to turn around." Dante said, before stopping as a shadow now loomed over them and the large Grimm in front of them let out a low growl. "Like I said, time to pop a U-Turn!" He said, the two of them turning and running for their lives.

Meanwhile, Yang and Blake reached the top of a hill and looked down to see the temple. It was broken and decrepit but for the platforms around its inside, holding several black and gold objects. "This must be it. Hey, look! That's my sister down there!" Yang said, pointing at the two black-clad figures that were Ryu and Bayonetta (oh, I haven't mentioned this yet, but Ryu is wearing his signature Ninja Gaiden uniform, minus the mask).

"That wasn't so bad." Ryu said, picking up one of the black objects and pocketing it.

"Hey! Glad to see you made it here in one piece!" Yang said, high-fiving her sister, Blake and Ryu simply observing their partners.

"Yeah. But more importantly, I beat you here!" Bayonetta said teasingly, earning her a playful punch in the arm from her older twin.

Blake then looked away from the sisterly antics and to the "artifacts" they were supposed to collect, said items being mere... "Chess pieces?" She asked.

"Yes. Some of them are missing, meaning we weren't the first ones here." Ryu said, holding up their black Bishop piece.

"Well, I guess we should pick one." Blake said as Yang walked over and looked as well.

"Hmmmm..." The elder Xiao Long twin pondered, studying the golden knight, then picked it up and showed it to Blake. "How about a cute little pony?" She asked.

Blake smirked at this. "Sure." She said, walking up to her partner.

"That wasn't too hard!" Yang said happily.

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." Blake said, the two sharing a smile.

Suddenly, Dante and Kratos ran in and jumped through a hole in the back wall, panting heavily. "There... See? I told you... We needed to turn around..." Dabnte said as he got up and grabbed the other black bishop piece.

Kratos glared at him after this. " **I** told YOU we needed to turn around. You only decided to turn around before we were stomped on!" Kratos snapped.

"Well, it's certainly nice to see you again." Bayonetta said, putting a hand on Dante's chest and back to help him steady his breathing.

"It certainly made the trip worth it." Dante agreed. Kratos and Ryu shot each other a look, shaking their heads at their partner's antics and lack of focus.

"So... Has anyone seen Ruby?" Bayonetta asked.

"Or Weiss?" Dante asked.

"And what about Pyrrha? She should've gotten here with her partner by now, even if it was that useless Jaune punk." Kratos said.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream rang out all the way to the temple, everyone turning in its direction. "Some girl is in trouble! What should we do?!" Yang asked, turning back to the rest of the party.

"I say we should head over there and help... Or just get away from here, we'll have MUCH bigger problems in a minute." Dante said, looking back from where they came.

"FINALLY, he has a good idea." Kratos said, also somewhat nervous that the Grimm that chased them there would catch up soon.

"Blake, what should we do?" Yang asked her partner, who was for some reason looking up at the sky, before she finally pointed up to it as everyone heard a new voice screaming.

"Heads uuuuuuuup!" Ruby screamed as she fell towards the ground.

"Ruby!" Yang and Bayonetta shouted, looking at each other and nodding. Bayonetta made a small dash towards her twin and jumped onto her shoulders as Yang formed Ember Celica into their guantlet forms and fired at the ground, launching the girls into the air, at which point Bayonetta jumped off her sister's shoulders. Suddenly, as she flew towards Ruby, she heard another voice screaming and looked to the side, seeing Jaune flying towards them. Quickly, she grabbed Ruby's hood and turned slightly, allowing Jaune to pass her rather than crash into her and shot her arm out, catching his hood as well, before firing the guns on her feet to slow their descent.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief at this, smiling up at Bayonetta. "Thanks, sis!" She said, brightly.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.

"I..." Yang said, unsure of how to respond.

Suddenly, an Ursai burst from the forest, ferociously waving its claws before a pink blast hit it in the back, causing it to stiffen up and fall forward. "Yeee-haaaaawww!" Nora yelled triumphantly, before tumbling off the Ursai's back as it collapsed to the ground. "Aww, it's broken..." She said, observing its corpse.

"Of course... Only Nora would think of doing that." Ryu said.

"I'll have to try that sometime." Kratos said.

"Or not..." He said, sweatdropping.

Ren quickly followed behind and leaned up against the dead Ursai to catch its breath. "Nora... Please... Don't ever do that again..." He said (*sigh* I still miss Monty. R.I.P). He suddenly looked up to see Nora was no longer there, a dotted outline of her appearing where she had once been standing.

"RYU! I'm so happy you made it okay! I mean, I KNEW you'd be okay, but I feel so much better SEEING you okay!" She said excitedly, hugging her boyfriend tightly as he tried to calm her down and free himself from her vice-liked grip that surely would've broken his back without his aura.

"It's okay, Nora... I'm fine... You still need to get a relic..." He said, pointing to it.

"Ooh! You're right! You're so smart! You always know what to do!" She said, giving him one more crushing squeeze before hurrying to the chess pieces, causing him to drop to the ground as Kratos and Bayonetta looked down at him, then each other. "Ooh..." She said, marveling at the Golden castle-like rook. "I'm queen of the castle~! I'm queen of the castle~!" She sang, taking different poses, holding the piece on her foot, then head.

"NORA!" Ren called, to which she saluted.

She giggled at this. "Coming, Ren!" She said, tilting her head to the side and catching the piece in her hand, before skipping over to her friend.

"Did she just ride in on an Ursai?" Blake asked.

"Uh..." Yang said, again unsure how to respond.

"We JUST saw it happen." Bayonetta said.

Suddenly, they heard a monstrous roar and Pyrrha was sprinting out of the forest with a Deathstalker hot on her trail, managing to hurdle through one snapping claw and rolling to avoid the next one. "Pyrrha!" Kratos shouted rushing in. She ran past him as he turned his bracers into the cestus once again and slammed his fist into the Deathstalker's face, pushing it back a little and shaking its head to recover from the impact. "You picked the wrong target today, beast!" He snapped his a forceful nod. The Deathstalker paused for a moment, before swinging its claw and sending him flying back to the group, skidding on his back the last few feet, then continuing its pursuit of Pyrrha.

"Wow, you showed it." Dante said.

"Let's see you do better." Kratos said, somewhat dazed.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked as Nora happily and mindlessly shimmied in place and Yang trembled in rage from all the crazy things happening.

She finally exploded after this, flames shooting around her and her eyes turning red. "I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for 2 seconds before something crazy happens again!?" She demanded, panting to calm herself.

The sound of an egg timer ticking down could now be heard as Ren ran up to the group and Dante helped Kratos to his feet, Ryu tilting his head side to side with his eyes closed as he silently counted down along with Bayonetta, who instead counted with her fingers as the two seconds past before the timer dinged. Ruby then tapped Yang on the arm. "Um, Yang?" She asked, before pointing up in the air.

"How could you leave me?!" Weiss asked as she dangled with one hand from the talon of a Nevermore.

"I said jump!" Ruby said.

"She's gonna fall." Blake and Bayonetta said together.

"She'll be fine." Ruby said dismisslvely.

"She's falling." Ren and Ryu said together as Weiss' grip finally slipped from the talon and she fell towards the ground.

"Weiss!" Dante shouted, creating a glyph from the ground. Suddenly, a massive white raptor bird emerged from the glyph (Griffon, Dante can summon demons defeated in his past life, except Mundus, Argosax, Abigail and Vergil/Nelo Angelo), Dante immediately jumping on its back and making it take off towards Weiss, managing to catch his sister bridal style and jumping off the bird, which flew after and attacked the Nevemore as Dante and Weiss safely returned to the ground, Dante using a number of glyphs to use as platforms and ease the descent, finally setting Weiss down on her feet once safely on the ground. Griffon put up a decent fight, but was unfortunately destroyed when it took an onslaught of spear-like feathers from the Nevermore.

Pyrrha was then knocked back to their feet by the Deathstalker, earning it a growl from Kratos. "Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang said with fake pep.

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby said, rushing in at the Deathstalker.

"If we do die, I'll drag this beast to hell with me!" Kratos snapped, rushing in along with Ruby, but both were unfortunately knocked again.

Kratos lifted himself up, facing back at the group and was about to turn around, but was horrified to see a familiar figure through the hole in the wall slowly but surely approaching the temple. Back with the group, Bayonetta looked at Dante. "So, what were you two in such a hurry to escape from?" She asked.

"Well-" Dante started, before a Goliath burst through the wall, everyone hurrying to run and dodge out of the way. "That!" He said. It was smaller than most, likely younger, but it still stood tall enough for a Dante, standing at 6 feet tall and stabbing at its stomach with a sword of the same height was only stabbing the very tip of the blade into the monster's belly.

"I was really hoping I WOULDN'T have to fight building-sized monsters in this lifetime." Ryu said, shooting it in the face with the Howling Cannon.

"Grab your pieces and go! We'll hold this one back!" Dante said, rolling to avoid getting stomped on by the Goliath, then stabbing at its stomach.

Jaune quickly grabbed the other golden rook while Ruby grabbed the gold knight, the group taking off. Luckily for he resurrected heroes, the Deathstalker and Nevermore decided to chase after the other two teams rather than stay and fight them.

 **Background Music: "Not Gonna Die" by Skillet**

"4 of us vs. one monster taller than the 3 of us put together? I like those odds." Bayonetta said, circling it and shooting it at the same time.

"Go for the legs, they'll be weaker!" Ryu said, slashing at its front right leg with Dabilahro. It raised its foot to attempt to stomp down on Ryu, but Kratos drew the Blade of Remnant (Blade of Olympus) and swung the blade, sending a sphere of lightning from it, hitting the monster in the face and staggering it, causing it's foot to miss the ninja.

"This ought to slow it down!" Dante said, striking the ground with Cerberus and freezing the Goliath's back feet, then striking them with the triple nunchaku. They appeared to buckle a little bit, at which point he rolled out and started shooting at it with Ebony and Ivory.

"I'll make an opening! Don't waste it!" Kratos said, throwing his swords and hooking them to the Goliath's trunk, pulling back on his chains and managing to bring the monster down to its knees.

"Good work!" Ryu said, running up its face and jumping, twisting in the air and smashing the weight of his Kusari-gama, before striking at its back and sides with the sickle part.

"Maybe I was wrong. This might just be too easy." Bayonetta said, rushing in and striking at it with her scythe and her whips which were attached to her feet.

The monster then bellowed and began to pull back and rocking to the sides. "Look out!" Dante said, rushing up to Bayonetta and grabbing her, turning his back to shield her from the beast as it slammed the side of its head into them, sending them flying a few feet.

It then wrapped its trunks around Kratos's chains and pulled him in, before smacking him away with its trunk. "No! Why won't you go down, you beast!?" Ryu demanded, repeatedly stabbing it in the back with his dual swords.

It bellowed once again and reached up, grabbing Ryu and slamming him into the ground in front of it. It then reared up on its hind legs and prepared to stomp down on the ninja. "Wretched beast!" Kratos shouted, rushing in and holding his hands up.

"Get out of there, you idiot!" Dante shouted, but to everyone's shock and amazement, he held back the monster's massive feet.

"No way... Not even Yang could hold one of those back. It's impossible! It's the size of a house!" Bayonetta said in shock.

"You may be powerful, one of the strongest types of Grimm there are, but you are nothing compared to the monsters I've faced! I was the Ghost of Sparta! I overpowered everyone I faced! And now, I am the Ghost of Remnant! My power is no longer to destroy, but to protect! But I can still destroy those who would do harm to the innocent!" Kratos snapped, his semblance, pure strength that increases along with his heart rate, allowing him to hold back the towering Grimm. He then looked back at his teammates. "Unload on it!" He shouted.

"You got it, big guy!" Dante said, pulling out Spiral and blasting it in the stomach, Ryu again combining his tonfa into their machine gun form and unloading on its stomach as well.

"It's not as effective when my target doesn't have a soul, but it should work!" Bayonetta said, rushing in with her scythe, jumping and slicing the monster's throat.

"Push it back! I'll finish this!" Ryu shouted. With a final shout of effort, Kratos pushed the mighty beast back as it still struggled to live and fight. He did a few hand signs with a red Dust crystal in his hands. He finished his hand signs and jumped into the air. Amazingly, the fire from the dust engulfed him and turned into a massive serpent dragon. It flew at the Grimm's head and slammed into it and vanishing to reveal Ryu impaling it in the head with the Dragon Sword, even getting through the armor-like bone on its head. He pulled it out and twisted in mid-air, now at the monster's neck and hacked down, managing to slice the beasts head off.

 **End Music**

"Great work. Now we need to check on our friends and family." Dante said, to which the others nodded and rushed in the direction their friends went. The were lucky enough to arrive just in time to see Ruby run up the cliff wall while holding the Nevermore against the wall by its throat with Crescent Rose. She reached the top, catching the massive bird's body on the lip on the edge of the cliff, firing the Sniper Rifle one final time and decapitating the massive bird, landing on the cliff wall like a badass.

"That's my baby sister." Bayonetta said proudly as she looked up at the youngest member of her family.

"Man, I'm glad we were around to catch that." Kratos said.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, buddy." Dante said, putting a hand on Kratos' shoulder and giving him a small shake.

"Yeah. We all did good, but we'd better hurry and get these pieces to Ozpin if we still want decent grades." Ryu said.

Later, in the auditorium...

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Trush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The 4 of you retrieved the white bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as... Team CRDL. Led by... Cardin Winchester." Ozpin said as everyone applauded a group of soldier-looking boys all dressed in full suits of armor. "Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you shall work together as... Team JNPR. Led by... Jaune Arc." He continued.

"Huh? Led by?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin said.

"I still say it should've been Pyrrha." Kratos said with his arms folded.

"Oh, come on. Be happy for him. And your sister. I think they'll make a good team." Ryu said, happy for his girlfriend and best friend as well. Pyrrha then gave Jaune a playful punch in the arm, but this knocked him on his butt. Kratos then looked back at Ryu with a smug 'you were saying' look. "Okay, maybe that is asking too much." He said.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you shall work together as... Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose." Ozpin continued.

"Yes! Way to go, Ruby!" Bayonetta cheered.

"Your sister's gonna be pissed." Kratos said to Dante.

"She'll get over it... It'll take a while, but she will. Eventually, she'll just be happy she's on a team with a cute redhead." Dante said, smirking and shrugging as he saw Weiss shoot him a pouting glare.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang said, hugging her younger sister.

"And finally: Cereza "Bayonetta" Xiao Long, Dante Schnee, Kratos Nikos, Ryu Hayabusa. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you shall work together as... Team SCRN (Scorn. Sounds kinda evil, but it's the best I could come up with). Led by... Dante Schnee!" He said.

"Aww, yeah!" Dante said, fist-pumping.

"Congratulations. I think celebrations are in order." Bayonetta said.

"Well, I can't say this won't be interesting." Ryu said.

"It'll certainly be one hell of a ride... I'm kinda looking forward to it." Kratos said.

"Looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin said.

However, not everything going on that night was good. Elsewhere in a warehouse hideout, Roman Torchwick, Medusa and 3 other figures in the shadows were going over their plans as Roman was dealing with someone on the phone. He hung up, grumbled and lit a cigar as a member of the white fang wheeled something up to him. He paid him some lien and the transaction was complete. "Open it." He said, the White Fang grunt busting open a case full of differently cut gem crystals of many different colors. He inspected a crystal quickly, before deciding it was too his liking. One thing wasn't, however. "We're gonna need more men." He said.

"Bullshit! The hell do we need more men for?! We already got those White Fang mutts working for us and any one of us could deal with dozens of those little shit huntsman and huntresses in training ourselves!" One figure said, his yellow eyes glowing in the shade given from the hood of his yellow jacket with snake designs.

"Precisely! We have enough Dust to level the school and all its pathetic students! They cannot stop us! No matter what they try, it's USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!" Another one of the figures said from deeper in the shadows slamming his fist on the table the 3 in the shadows sat at.

"Don't be stupid. With this much time and effort spent planning, we can't afford to be cocky! We have to make sure everything is perfect. Down to the last detail. Then, we will absolutely crush our enemies. They won't stand a chance." Medusa said.

"Whatever. Just as long as I get to cause some destruction and kill as many people as I want, I'll go with the plan. Just don't keep me waiting." The final figure said, licking her lips as her left eye let out a pink glow.

They all looked to the map, which had different sectors labeled, as well as the high concentration of cops... and dumb cops, with the main target on the map being... Beacon.

(OH, MAN! That was intense! And we get a glimpse of the sinister plot unfolding, as well as a few extra villains! Can you guess who they are with the more or less subtle hints? Good luck!)


	9. Team and Siter Troubles

The four reincarnated heroes woke up nice and early at the same time, around 6 AM. "Early risers. Nice. My sister probably won't wake up for another two hours." Dante said.

"My father always made me wake up early to train. In both lifetimes." Ryu explained. I'm being a little lazy here, but some time between the last chapter and this one, they all found out and discussed how they died in their respective worlds and were reborn on Remnant.

"In Sparta, you were executed if you dared sleep for too long." Kratos explained.

"And when you have two sisters who are balls of nearly infinite energy, you don't get too sleep for very long before they wake you. Yang especially." Bayonetta said, shuddering at the memories of Yang's sudden and rough ways to wake up: body slams, yanking the bed sheets off and sending her to the floor, throwing a bucket of water on her, wedgies (she never slept on her stomach anymore), literally dragging her out of bed, etc.

"I hear you, that's why I had to let Weiss now she may be older by a few seconds, but I'm the dominant twin." Dante said.

"Pyrrha keeps trying, but I will never allow myself to become weaker than her." Kratos said.

"I'm hearing all this and thank the gods I was an only child in both lives." Ryu said.

"Anyway, we kinda skipped this last night, but I think today, since we have time before class, we should unpack and section off our own parts of the room." Dante said.

"Fair enough." Ryu said.

"We had to do it at some point. Might as well get it out of the way." Kratos said.

"As long as I get the part of the room closest to the shower." Bayonetta said.

And with that, they each began decorating a quarter of the room to fit their unique styles. While each of them partially looked like an armory due to all the members of this team bringing quite the arsenal into combat, they still had unique distinctions. Bayonetta had a decent-sized bureau in which she stored her impressive wardrobe, while the top was lined with a number of different perfume bottles, one for each weapon she preferred to use, not incredibly organized, but not sloppy, about average. Dante was somewhat more lazy, simply throwing his things where he thought looked good while being out of the way, a juke box on the other side of the room from his bed, a number of magazines stacked on top of the juke box, at the foot of Dante's bed and under it. Kratos' room was well-organized, still very Spartan: function over style with little decoration, his weapons and armor being the only thing that added flare to his room. Finally, Ryu's part of the room had most the stuff you'd expect a ninja might have other than weapons: a large ashtray with a burning incense stick and a traditional Japanese (or the Remnant equivalent) tea set. "Nice work. And we managed to keep it to our own spaces and not get into a battle royale over someone's stuff being over on someone else's side." Dante said.

"Indeed. Knowing my sisters, Team RWBY's dorm is going to look like it was hit by a tornado." Bayonetta said.

"We have a little bit of time before our classes begin. We should try to familiarize ourselves with our schedules." Ryu said.

"Good idea." Kratos agreed.

They spent a little bit of time studying their schedules and school maps, managing to memorize where they would have to be at what time. "And it looks like we all have a Grimm Hunting class in a few minutes with a Professor Port." Dante said.

"I don't know why, but I can't shake the feeling that none of us are going to like that class." Kratos said as they started leaving to arrive at the classroom without having to rush and would make it with time to spare.

"Oh, how bad could it be?" Bayonetta asked as they walked down the hall.

Turns out, it would be... spiritually taxing. They arrived with plenty of time to spare, while teams RWBY and JNPR poured into the room at the very last minute before the bell rang. "Jeez, Weiss. You're usually way more punctual than this." Dante teased.

"Oh, be quiet! I blame them!" She said with a pout, pointing to her teammates.

"Well, she's going to be fun to work with." Bayonetta said.

With all that out of the way, they now had to listen to the arrogant ramblings of Professor Port. "Monsters! _Deeeemons_... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as **prey**! Ha-ha!" He laughed.

"He might be just a little too fond of himself." Ryu said.

"A little?" Kratos asked.

"Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely _teeming_ with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." He said, stopping to give Yang a wink, which she groans uncomfortably at.

"I hope they did a background check on him." Kratos said.

"Is there a rule against stabbing our teachers?" Bayonetta asked, starting to get up.

"YES." The 3 males of her team said, having to work together to get her back in her seat and keep her there.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the _very world_!" He went on.

"Ayyyy-yep!" A random student in the back said, raising a fist, everyone looking at him weirdly.

"Points for enthusiasm." Ryu said.

"That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..." He started, to which Team SCRN all let out a long groan, Kratos dropping his head down on the desk in front of him.

Dante sighed and looked down to where his sister was, looking at her leader in annoyance as Ruby did several somewhat childish things, such as revealing a (to him) hilarious, but inappropriate drawing of their teacher, balancing an apple on a book with her pencil held only by her finger while making a silly face, falling asleep and picking her nose. He didn't exactly approve of Ruby's antics, but they didn't really bother him any, whereas he noticed his sister was about to explode in anger. "Cover your ears, guys, I think my sister's about to blow the roof off this place." Dante warned them, bracing for a meltdown.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the _embodiment_ of these _traits_?" Port asked. Dante missed these traits as he was too worried about Weiss going off the hinges.

"I do, sir!" She said, loudly and angrily, raising her hand.

"Whew..." Dante said, relieved, leaning back in his chair.

"At least she timed her screaming right." Ryu said.

"And from the look of things, she'll have something to blow off her steam on." Kratos said, gesturing to a cage the Professor had moved into the middle of the room.

"Well, then, let's find out!" He said, gesturing for her to come down into the middle of the room, in front of the cage. "Step forward, and face your opponent!"He said as she looked at the red eyes behind the bars of the cage. After giving her a moment to retrieve her combat/regular clothes and her weapon, she now stood in front of the cage a few feet away.

"Goooo, Weiss!" Yang cheered, raising a fist.

"You got this, sis!" Dante called down, giving his sister a thumbs up, to which she looked at him with a smile.

"Fight well!" Blake said, waving a flag that said "RWBY".

"Yeah! Represent teeam RWBY!" Ruby cheered.

She lowered her sword and turned angrily towards her leader. "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" She snapped.

"Oh, um... Sorry." The younger girl apologized.

"Yeah, your sister isn't working her way onto my favorites list any time soon." Bayonetta said.

"Ruby hasn't acted much like a leader so far, but Weiss is just mad she didn't get chosen to be the team leader.

"Not even a day and there's a power struggle." Ryu said.

"You've clearly never been in the army. Everyone always wants more power and rank." Kratos said.

"I've seen the ugly side of power before. You should make sure Weiss doesn't go down that road. Before she does something she'll regret." The ninja said, looking towards Dante at the end.

"VERY chilling warning received." Dante said worriedly, looking towards his sister.

"Allllright!" Professor Port said, standing next to the cage, pulling out his axe _._ "Let the match... _begin_!" He said, swinging his axe, destroying the lock and freeing the boarbetusk, which immediately charged at Weiss.

 **Background Music: "Get Out Alive" by 3 Days Grace**

She used Myrtenaster to deflect its attack and rolled to the side, readying herself for its next move. The Grimm stood a distance away from its enemy, studying her. "Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting _that_ , were you?" He asked confidently.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby said.

"Fight smart, sis! Don't just rush in!" Dante said.

But Weiss was too angry and ignored her brother's warning, speeding towards the oncoming Boarbatusk, sticking her blade straight at its skull until they meet and Myrtenaster is trapped in the beast's tusks. Weiss still hung on to the hilt, and is tossed around as she struggles to get the rapier back. "A bold new approach! I like it." Port said.

"I don't." Kratos said.

"She's just rushing in without a plan." Ryu said.

"She's better than this! She's too mad at Ruby to think straight!" Dante said, unnerved.

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby cheered.

Weiss turned and glared at Ruby, only for the Boarbatusk to turn its head and rip the sword from her grip. Myrtenaster landed far away from its master, who was knocked back by the creature's tusks. "Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port asked.

"She's going to get herself killed if she keeps ignoring Ruby like that." Bayonetta said.

"She thinks she's still better than Ruby and she's too good to listen." Ryu said.

"Dammit, sis!" Dante snapped "Weiss! Use your glyphs!" Dante said. She looked up to her brother and nodded, creating a glyph under Myrtenaster and sending it flying towards her, catching it and deflecting the charging Boarbetusk once more, causing it to crash into the desk behind her.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-" Ruby advised.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss snapped at the younger girl, leaving her with a hurt expression.

"I am going to beat that girl." Bayonetta said.

"You'll have to get in line behind the Boarbetusk." Ryu said.

"I think she failed to understand the point of a leader." Kratos said.

Meanwhile, the Boarbatusk leapt into the air and rolled into a ball, spinning rapidly in the air and landing on the ground, consistently gaining speed until it launched itself at Weiss. It came closer and closer, but Weiss activated two of her blue-white glyphs, one in front of her to block the roll, another in the air behind her to leap up into, turning it into a black snowflake symbol and turning it blue again so she could launch herself forward and drive the blade into the Boarbatusk's stomach. It squealed and fell silent while Weiss gasped in relief.

 **End Music**

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are _indeed_ in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" as Weiss stands up at attention from her exhausted position and Ruby continues to frown. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay _vigilant_! Class dismissed!"Port said (wait, when did he say ANYTHING about assigned readings?)

Weiss glares and turns away, walking hurriedly to the exit past her teammates. "Well, now the line's free." Bayonetta said, getting up and cracking her knuckles.

"Sheesh, what's with her?"Jaune asked.

The remaining members of team RWBY and SCRN looked at each other with the same question. "I should handle this. I'll be back." Dante said.

Weiss continued to storm off, but Ruby turned a corner and manages to catch up with her. "Weiss!" Ruby called. Dante followed the girls and now hid behind the corner, listening to the conversation.

"What?" The heiress demanded.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?" Ruby started.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with _you_? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" The older girl berated her leader.

Ruby scoffed at this. "What did I do?" She asked.

"That's just it - you've done _nothing_ to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!" Weiss snapped.

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team." Ruby said sadly.

"Not a team led by _you_. I've studied _and_ trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." The schnee girl snapped, turning her back to Ruby, trying to reach out but dropping her hand with the following words "Ozpin made a mistake." She said, walking away, leaving Ruby to look down, dejected.

Dante sighed at his sister's comment, rounding the corner and giving Ruby a few friendly pats on the back. "Don't worry, Ruby. She's just jealous that she's not the leader. Give me a minute, I'll see if I can smooth this over. Worse case scenario, I spread some embarrassing rumors and get her to focus her hate on me for a while." He said with a chuckle at the end, taking off after his sister. He found her just outside, looking over a fence at the city below. "Hey. You doing okay? That fight got pretty rough." Dante said.

"Oh please. It was nothing I couldn't handle." She said.

"But you know how you could've handled it better? Calming down and listening to your teammates, your brother and your LEADER." He said.

"Why should I listen to her?! She's an obnoxious child. I have yet to see her do one thing to earn her new position, or even see her act like an adult!" She ranted.

"Is that what this is about? How she acts? Then you'd still be JUST as mad if we were on the same team. I got made the leader of my team and do I ever act like what you picture a leader to be?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes, but let out a sigh and answered. "No, but you made up for it with exceptional skill and strategy, Winter used to take you in Grimm infested forests and you'd clear them out with ease. Even if there was no onvious way to win, you came up with a plan and won." She said, somewhat admiringly as she looked at her younger twin.

"Yeah, but I never got accepted to one of these schools when I was 15. But you know who did? Ruby. And who came up with the plan that let you bring down that Nevermore? Ruby. And who told you to hit the vulnerable spot underneath Boarbetusk? Ruby. It's not how you act as a leader, it's how capable you are. Sure, she may act more like a 5 year old than a 15 one, but she has the skills and strategies to get you through any of the tough spots you might get into. Just like back in the forest, I was driving Kratos insane, Ryu didn't even know me and Bayonetta was staring at my ass half the time, but they trusted me to make the right decision to bring down that Goliath and get us out alive. If all you do is argue with her, you'll just drag your whole team down... maybe even get them killed. Maybe, instead of complaining you aren't the leader, just try to be a good teammate. And a good friend." He said.

Weiss took in what her brother was saying, then nodded. "Maybe you're right. I'll try it. Thanks, Dante. I thought I was supposed to be the smart one." She said.

"I have my moments, I guess. I listened to Winter from time to time." He said, walking away.

He arrived back in his team's dorm later that night as they all started to wind down. "So, is your sister done picking on mine, or will I have to rough her up in Goodwitch's sparring class?" Bayonetta asked.

"Don't worry. I think they'll wind up being good friends. You can focus your energy on this Schnee instead." He said, pointing his thumb at himself.

"I like that idea." She purred.

"Could we at least get a warning before your start making moves on each other?" Ryu asked.

"You could at least wait until you have to dorm to yourselves." Kratos said.

"Don't worry, guys. Just flirting tonight. Man, I'm bushed, how about you 3?" He asked.

"I'm ready to get to sleep." Ryu said.

"Same here. I need my beauty sleep after all." Bayonetta said.

"And I need energy for sparring class tomorrow." Kratos said, laying down and pulling the covers up to his collarbone.

"Fine by me. 'Night, everyone. Don't let the Grimm bugs bite." He said, turning off the lights and the 4 badasses descending into the world of dreams.


	10. Bullying Ain't Cool!

(Surprise everyone! Two updates in one day! The last chapter was a little short, so you get two, but don't always expect this. Side note: I thought it was just made up for the title, but did you know Jaundice is a real thing? It's some kind of liver problem that causes yellowing of a newborn baby's skin and eyes. With that, on to the story!)

Cardin Winchester, with his mace perched on his shoulder and Jaune Arc opposite him with Crocea Mors drawn, leaning on his weapon as if exhausted, in the spotlight shining on the Beacon Academy auditorium stage. He looked at Cardin, who laughed at his opponent's tiredness, and Jaune gathered his strength to charge forward and swung his blade at Cardin, only for him to jump out of the way. Jaune looked back, surprised, as Cardin's mace sent Jaune's shield - and himself - flying back. Now only armed with his sword, Jaune continued to try and attack, but is blocked by the mace's hilt. Their weapons locked, Cardin forced himself up, towering over a struggling Jaune.

"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said confidently.

"Over my dead-!"Jaune started seriously.

Jaune is cut short as Cardin kneed him in the gut, making Jaune drop his sword and fall to the ground in pain.

"Damn him! The coward!" Kratos snapped. He may not like Jaune, but he disliked two things more than him: Cardin and cheap shots. Sure, he was once a bloodthirsty, ruthless killer, but he still fought with honor and dignity, refusing to use cheap shots or attack an opponent on the ground and unprepared (not including the Grimm, anything goes for them).

Cardin raised his mace and was about to slam it down on a worried Jaune. "Uh... Okay, you won, man. Time to stop." Dante said, reaching for his own sword and preparing to interfere if the teacher decided not to.

just when the buzzer rings, the lights come back on, and Glynda Goodwitch's voice causes him to stop. "Cardin, that's enough!" She ordered. He relented and walked away as she came onto the stage, tapping her tablet. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." She explained while Jaune still lays on the floor in defeat and Pyrrha Nikos looked sad, Glynda turned her head to look at the losing warrior as he pulled out a smaller tablet with his low, blinking stats and that of his entire team. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf now, would we?" She asked.

"Speak for yourself." Cardin said.

"Big talk for a guy who relies on cheap shots." Kratos said.

Cardin turned back to Kratos at this. "Oh, I'm sorry. You have a problem with the way I fight? Well, let's see you do better!" Cardin snapped.

Goodwitch sighed at this, but secretly held back a smile. It was no secret Cardin was far more arrogant than any Huntsmen, let alone a trainee should EVER be, while his skills were at best simply on par to allow him to be at this school, nothing exceptional like most of the other students here. He needed to be knocked down a few pegs and Kratos was the perfect person to do it. "We have time for one more match. So, Mr. Winchester, do you accept Mr. Nikos' challenge?" She asked.

"Sure. It'll be nice to knock a world champion down a few pegs." Cardin said confidently.

"That poor fool." Bayonetta said.

"We shall see." Kratos said, drawing his swords and stepping onto the stage.

Dante smirked, leaning in towards Ryu. "500 lien says he doesn't last a minute." He said.

"50 lien, he doesn't last ten seconds." Ryu said.

"That'll be interesting." Dante smirked, shaking the ninja's hand.

"Begin!" She said.

Cardin raised his mace and rushed in as Kratos swung his swords low, wrapping around Cardin's legs and causing him to trip, skidding to a stop right at Kratos' feet, looking up at the pale warrior who already had his cestus read, swinging the one on his right arm back, circling it above his head before slamming it down on Cardin's head. If you were to blink, you would've missed how fast Cardin's aura gauge dropped to zero. "And that's the match." Glynda said as Kratos walked back to his team. Ryu looked at Dante with a smirk while the white-haired boy grumbled and handed him the Lien. Good thing he's rich in this universe, because he's still just as bad at betting and gambling.

"Wasn't even 5 seconds." He grumbled.

"You either didn't give Kratos enough credit, or you gave Cardin WAY too much." Ryu said.

"My guess is the latter." Bayonetta said.

"Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" Goodwitch explained to the excited students, Yang punching the air in anticipation, Weiss shaking her fists with an excited smile, Ruby shaking her entire body with enthusiastic energy while squealing softly, Dante twirling his pistols eagerly, Bayonetta tapping the guns on her heels together, Ryu pulling back a fist in excitement and Kratos cracking his neck and knuckles.

The bell then rang and the students started leaving. "Hey, thanks for sticking up for me back there." Jaune said to Kratos as the resurrected warrior started to walk by him.

Kratos scoffed at this. "I didn't do it for you. I did it to put him in his place. You need to train more. The skills you have no are going to get you killed." He said, walking by Jaune uncaringly. But at least this time he didn't purposefully hit his shoulder against Jaune's as he passed him like every other time. Jaune hangs his head in shame as Pyrrha looked at the scene sadly.

The scene changes to a zoom-up of Nora Valkyrie's turquoise eyes as she tells an unbelievable story to her audience... "So! There we were, in the middle of the night..."

"It was day."Ryu corrected, taking a bite from a bowl of pork-fried rice.

"We were **surrounded** by Usai..." She explained to Blake, who was paying no attention as she was lost in her book, and Yang, who was hanging on her every word with her hands cupping her face. Bayonetta rolled her eyes at her twin who somehow believed the story. She was paying attention to Dante as he leaned back against the table, chilling and eating a slice of pizza.

"They were Beowolves." Ren corrected, holding a cup of coffee.

"Dozens of them!" Nora screamed as she stood at the table of Teams RWBY, SCRN and JNPR, where Weiss wass ignoring Nora and filing her nails, Ruby and Pyrrha were listening politely, and Jaune was messing with his food.

"Two of 'em."Ryu and Ren said together.

Ruby and Pyrrha were now looking at a distant Jaune with concern _._ "But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" She proclaimed proudly.

Ren sighed and shook his head while Ryu felt the need to explain Nora's crazy story. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."He explained.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, looking worriedly at her leader.

Jaune finally snapped out of it, turning back toward them. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?"He asked nervously, trying to avoid getting caught.

"It's just that you seem a little... **not** okay..." Ruby explained.

"Yeah, you've been moping around like your dog died ever since Cardin pulverized you earlier." Dante said, glancing back at the blonde boy.

Jaune looked at everyone else as they stopped their distractions and stared at him. "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" He said, holding up a thumb while laughing nervously. Suddenly, his attention was focused on the members of Team CRDL, standing around Velvet Scarlatina, a girl with brown rabbit ears jutting from her hair as Cardin laughed at her and Sky Lark held up his hands to his head in a mock interpretation of her unusual features.

"Racist bastards." Ryu said.

"What right do they have to mock her? She's both their elder and a superior fighter to them." Kratos said. He'd seen Team CFVY in action a few times and they were quite formidable, Velvet and Coco especially, the two rarely revealing their weapons.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha said.

"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah... He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!" Jaune said, clearly trying to play it off.

"He's a _bully_." Ruby said.

"And not even a good one. If he even THINKS someone could beat him, he'll take off." Dante said.

"Honestly, even for YOU, it's sad you let him bully you this much." Kratos said.

Jaune scoffed at this. "Oh, please! Name _one_ time he's 'bullied' me." He said.

"REALLY?" All the members of Team SCRN said together, looking at him.

* * *

We now flash back to a number of scenes. First, Jaune is seen on the way to class as Cardin is going the other way down the hall. When the two pass, Cardin knocked his arm into Jaune and makes him drop his book, then continued on his way with his hands out as if daring anyone to challenge him.

"Ah, come on!" Jaune complained.

Next, Jaune and Cardin were about to pass through a doorway, but Cardin clicked on Jaune's sheath and extended it into its shield form as he was going out, causing him to run into his own defense and have it block the exit.

Jaune grunted in frustration as he tried to lift his shield back out. "Come on...!" He groaned.

Finally, Glynda was in the locker room with several students, gesturing at the devices.

"Each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armor. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a six-digit code."She explained.

Hearing this, Cardin looksed at Jaune - standing between him and the only open locker in the room - and the cliché played itself out as Cardin quickly pushed a shocked Jaune into the small dark space and closed the door on him, pressing random buttons on the pad right after that.

"What?! No, wait, wait! You've gotta get me out of here! Please! Don't! Don't! Don't do it!" Jaune pleaded. But It was too late to protest when the locker scrunched down and launched up with a burst of blue fire coming from its base. Cardin watched as the locker slowly soared across the sky. Jaune is still heard from within the locker. "Ahhh, coooome oooooooon...!"He screamed.

* * *

Everyone now looked at Jaune now, wondering how he'd laugh off or deny these prime examples of Cardin's bullying. "I didn't land far from the school!"He said with a laugh, Ryu face-palming and Kratos dropping his head on the table.

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha offered.

"Ooooh!" Nora said excitedly, getting up from the table and presenting her diabolical plan with a not-entirely-sane grin. "We'll break his legs!" She said evilly.

"I approve." Kratos said.

"I love the enthusiasm, Nora, but maybe tone it down and think of a less SEVERE way to deal with Cardin." Ryu said, grabbing his girlfriend's shoulders and getting her to sit down again.

"Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to _me_ ; he's a jerk to everyone." Jaune said.

They all looks over as the laughing grew louder, mixed in with cries of pain from Velvet when one of her ears was tugged on by Cardin. "Ow! That hurts!" Velvet cried in pain, stopping her struggling and grimaces. "Please, stop..." She said

"Okay, let's break his legs." Ryu said as he, Dante and Kratos started to get up, but Bayonetta stopped them.

"Don't worry, boys. I'll handle this one." She said, walking around the tables, approaching Cardin from behind.

"I told you it was real!" Cardin laughed to his teammates.

"What a freak!"Russel Trush laughed at the girl.

"The only freaks I see around here are a bunch of sissy boys who think they're so tough when they pick on girls." Bayonetta said, getting their attention, before grabbing both of Cardin's ears and lifting him to his feet, almost even off the ground by his hearing appendages. "Oh, look. Yours are real, too. And it probably hurts when I pull on them, just like it hurt when you pulled on poor Velvet's." She said.

"Agh! Yes! Stop!" He said, grabbing her hands and wiggling, desperately trying to free his ears from her vice-like grip. His teammates started to come towards her to help, but a quick glance from her that basically said "sit down, bitches" brought them to an instant stop.

"You didn't stop when she asked, so why should I stop when you ask?" Bayonetta asked him.

"Ow! Okay! Alright! I'm sorry! I'll stop!" He said, still struggling to get free.

"Fine, I'll stop, if you stop messing with everyone. Not just her, but Jaune and all the others you pick on as well. And if I catch you doing this again... Well, we'll see if these ears of yours can actually hold your weight." Bayonetta said, lifting Cardin to the very tips of his toes, before finally dropping him and strutting away sassily.

"Thank you!" Velvet said happily, before going on her way.

"And that, my dear Jaune, is how you deal with a bully, you stand up to them... And if possible, humiliate them in front of their friends." Bayonetta said, before both of her sister's covered her mouth.

"No! Don't do that!" Yang said.

"Yeah, just ignore that last part!" Ruby agreed.

"Yeah... Thanks..." Jaune said, leaving to take care of his tray. (Great, now even girl's are sticking up and fighting my battles for me.) He thought sadly to himself as he went to take care of his tray, unaware of Cardin watching his walk of shame with a sinister grin.

* * *

Later, Jaune was asleep in class while a constantly-zooming and fast-talking Professor Bartholomew Oobleck is in the middle of his hyperactive lecture, educating Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, Velvet, Ryu and Cardin, who is directly behind Jaune.

Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution-more popularly known as the Faunus War-" He started, zooming up to the front of the class and the map covered in papers behind his desk _._ "-Humankind was quite, quite _adamant_ about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." He explained, pointing at the map of said-area with his stick, then zoomed off to the side for a sip of his coffee before appearing in front of the desk. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively _recent_ events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" He said, zooming around the classroom more, sipping his coffee again before continuing to zoom and talk _._ "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" He asked.

A few faunus students raised their hands as Ryu looked at Velvet, sitting to the second year student's right. "I'm pretty sure getting your rabbit ears pulled is some form of descrimination." He said.

She looked at him for a few moments, before nodding. "I suppose." She said, raising her hand shyly.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is _precisely_ this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" He warned, taking another sip of his coffee _._ "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" He asked, before seeing a raised hand _._ "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle!" Weiss answered proudly.

"Precisely! _And_ , who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" He asked again.

Unseen by the professor, Cardin flicks a paper football at Jaune's head, causing him to wake up. "Hey!" He exclaimed in surprise and annoyance.

Oobleck zoomed right up to Jaune's face. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" He asked.

"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus... Had over that guy's stuff..." He stalled, looking around at Pyrrha and anyone else who might give him the answer.

Ryu sighed at this. Normally, he wouldn't bother to help someone who didn't study and didn't know the answer, but he felt bad for Jaune as Cardin kept picking on him and was the reason Jaune was called upon. Using his time-stopping Ninpo, he quickly moved beside Jaune. "Night Vision." He said, before moving back to his seat and restarting time.

Jaune jumped for a moment, hearing the answer in his ear, before shaking it off and finally answering. "Night vision!" He answered.

"Yes, wonderful! Many faunus are known to have nearly perfect vision at night." Oobleck confirmed.

Cardin scoffed at this. "Meh. It was probably easier to train _animals_ than soldiers." He said, earning him a glare from most of the class.

"You aren't the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha asked.

"What? You got a problem?" He demanded.

"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." Blake added, looking at Cardin. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as _such_ a failure." She added. (Insert mic drop)

Cardin growled at this somewhat hidden jab that he wasn't paying attention, getting up and clenching his fist and Blake and Pyrrha. "Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat. You can see me after class for some additional readings." Professor Oobleck said, to which Jaune quietly giggled.

Later that day, Kratos and Pyrrha were walking down the halls together when they saw Jaune further down the hall, before Cardin emerged from around the corner and shoved him to the ground. "Cardin!" Kratos snapped. The bully turned to see the pale wall of muscle and quickly took off.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha said, running up beside him. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." He said.

Kratos rolled his eyes at the blonde, before extending his hand. "Here." He said. Jaune looked up at him, surprised, before taking his hand and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "Come with me." He said. He lead the odd number members of team JNPR (1 and 3) to the roof of the dorms. "Here." He said.

Jaune walked to the edge of the roof and looked over the edge. "Uh... Kratos, Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not _that_ depressed." He said, confusing them. "I could always be a farmer or something." He said as Pyrrha looked over the edge as well, before realizing what Jaune meant in horror.

"No!" She said, pulling him away from the ledge.

Kratos face-palmed at this as well. "No, you idiot! Look AROUND, not down. There's plenty of room up here. After class, we could come up here and train. Between two four-time tournament champions, you could be one of the best warriors in this school." Kratos explained.

Jaune and even Pyrrha was shocked at this. "Y-you're willing to do that for me? Why?" He asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I STILL don't like you, but I'm sick of seeing you get beaten all the time. You're the leader of my sister's team. And I will not allow you to drag her down and be so pathetic. I will train you to stand among the greatest warriors in Remnant." Kratos said.

"And I'll help, too." Pyrrha said.

"You think I need help?" He asked.

"Yes, obviously, that's why I brought you here." Kratos said.

"N-no! No, that's not what I meant." She said.

"But you just said it." Jaune said to her.

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" She tried to encourage her leader.

He sighed, turning away and lowering his head. "You're wrong. I don't belong here." He said.

"Maybe not know, but with help, you could." Kratos said.

"Kratos!" She said in an annoyed tone, making her brother back off, before looking at Jaune. "Jaune, that's a terrible thing to say! Of course you belong here!" She said.

Jaune started becoming angry at this. "No, I don't!" He snapped. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..." He admitted.

"What?" Kratos demanded.

"Wh-what do you mean?"Pyrrha asked.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't _earn_ my spot at this Academy! I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!" He confessed.

"You pathetic waste of space!" Kratos snapped, but Pyrrha held him back.

"But... Why?" She asked.

"'Cause _this_ is always what I've wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough." He explained sadly.

"And all you've done is disgrace them, their legacy and your team." Kratos said.

"But if we helped you, you could be good enough." She said.

This only frustrated him further, however. "I don't **want** help! I don't **want** to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" He shouted.

Kratos angrily stepped forward at this. "Denying her help is one thing, but if you keep snapping at my sister like that, I'll snap your neck." Kratos warned.

Jaune was somewhat nervous and scared at this, before standing up to Kratos, matching his glare. "I'm _tired_ of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives!" He explained, then backed up and looked at both of them. "Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?" He asked.

Pyrrha attempted to reach out for his arm and console him, but he leaned back from her touch. "Jaune..." She said softly.

"No great warrior gets to where they are on their own. They always need help from someone. Pyrrha and I got to where we were because we trained hard and honed our skills against each other to learn and find a way to overcome our weaknesses. All warriors got to where they are with someone else's help: somone who trained them, someone who gave them their weapon, someone to spar with and hone their techniques. No one has EVER done it all on their own... And you shouldn't have to either." Kratos said with amazing sincerity.

Jaune looked at the taller boy for a second, before shaking his head and turning his back on them. "Just... leave me alone. Okay?" He asked.

Pyrrha bowed her head in sadness at this. "If that's what you think is best." She said, starting to walk away, Kratos putting an arm around her shoulder to console her.

"You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped." He told her.

Jaune paced a little until he heard a mocking laugh and Cardin appeared on the roof from his window. "Oh, Jaune..." He said darkly (Yeah, maybe you should make COMPLETELY sure no one else is in earshot before screaming the second biggest lie in the series Jaune)

"Cardin!" He said in fear.

"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected _you_ to be such a rebel!" He said with a smirk. (He's on the edge of the roof! One quick shove, that's all it'd take!... No, he's still necessary...)

"Please, Cardin, _please_ , don't tell anyone!" Jaune pleaded.

"Jaune, come on! I'd never rat on a friend like that!" He said as he approached the blonde.

"A... a friend?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Of course!" Cardin said, walking over and trapping Jaune in a headlock under his arm. He struggled to free himself from the taller boy, but to no avail. "We're _friends_ now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a _long_ time." He said, finally releasing Jaune, who gasped as he leaned on the ground. "That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave me today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy?" He asked, leaning down to rubbing Jaune's hair, before getting up with a grin _._ "That's what I thought." He said, heading back to hang onto the edge (Just stomp his fingers, Jaune! No one would ever know!) "Don't worry, Jaune; your secret's safe with me." He said, dropping back down to his room, leaving Jaune to rub his neck in pain and worry.


	11. A Leader is Born

Kratos had told his team about Jaune sneaking his way into Beacon and, while somewhat annoyed by the cheap tactics, they agreed not to tell on him, which would ruin a team with their good friends on it. However, after a few days, they'd notice Jaune was rarely around the rest of his team, preferring to hang with Cardin for some strange reason. Ryu and Kratos quickly grew suspicious of this, meeting up with the rest of Team SCRN in the auditorium after classes were finished. "So, you noticed it, too?" Ryu asked.

"Yes. Jaune's hanging around Cardin whenever he has any free time. But it doesn't make sense." Kratos said.

"Cardin's the last person Jaune would want to hang out with even when the bastard ISN'T bullying him." Dante agreed.

"He must have some dirt on the boy he's blackmailing him with." Bayonetta guessed.

A thought then occurred to Dante. "Hey, Kratos, where was it you and your sister took Jaune to train?" He asked.

"On a large section of the roof of the dorms, easily accessible, facing directly towards Beacon." The Spartan answered.

Bayonetta pulled up a quick map of the dorms on her scroll, deadpanning. "That was right above team CRNL's dorm." She said.

"Cardin must've heard, then." Ryu said.

"So, a friend of ours, who's also the leader of a team with two of your close friends and your sister on it is being blackmailed by the school's biggest bully, who could at any minute spill the beans and get Jaune kicked out of the school, which would throw team JNPR into ruin. I don't think any of us want that." Dante said.

"True, but he got himself in this situation. After what he said on the roof to me and especially to Pyrrha, he'd be lucky if I saved him from a Grimm attack, let alone this." Kratos said, before turning to the team's resident ninja. "Ryu, you could keep an eye on them. If he forces Jaune to do anything that might bring harm to any other member of his team, then we do something. Until then, Jaune's on his own." Kratos said.

"Damn, man. That's cold." Dante said.

"Still, like he said, Jaune DID bring this on himself. Who knows? This may help him grow as a leader." Bayonetta added.

"You're being WAY too optimistic about this. And for the record, I'm almost 100% certain this will end in disaster." Ryu said, before vanishing into the shadows.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Team JNPR, with the exception of Jaune, were in their dorm, Pyrrha looking out the window sadly as Ren loaded Stormflower and Nora jumped on the bed.

"How come Jaune gets home so late?"

"He's become rather scarce since he started fraternizing with Cardin."

"That's weird... Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our **rest**!" She proclaimed while twirling in midair so her back hits the covers.

"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing." Pyrrha said angrily at the mention of their leader.

Nora and Ren exchanged glances, not knowing that Jaune himself was looking in through the crack of the door. "Mmmm... I guess so."Nora said simply.

Jaune hung his head and closes the door, just as a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, Jaune!" Ruby called out. Startled, Jaune turned around to see her in her pajamas. She giggled at his reaction. "Long time, no see! Did you lock yourself out again?" She asked.

"Oh, uh, nope!" He said, raising his scroll, attempting to laugh. "Got it!" He confirmed.

"So! Where have you been lately?"She asked.

"I, uh..." He tried to come up with something, but just sighed and lowered his head. "I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin has me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and..." He stopped, breathing heavily through his nose. "I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." He said sadly, pressing his back to his team's door and slid down to the floor in depression. "I'm a failure." He said sadly.

"Nope!" She said simply.

He looked up at her in surprise at this. "'Nope?'" He asked.

"Nope! You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." She explained.

"But... what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" He asked.

She thought about it for a moment, then gave her answer. "Nope!" She said again.

He laughed as she joins him on the floor. "You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff." He told her.

"Nope!" She agreed as Jaune leaned into the door some more. "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid..." She started, to which Jaune groaned and sank lower to the ground. "... And you might've even been a failure the first day we met!" She rubbed salt on the wound. He groaned and went lower still. "But, you can't be one now. You know why?" She asked.

"Uhhh, because...?" He started.

"Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now, Jaune. We both do! And if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us." She explained, getting up and placing her hands on her hips as she spoke. "We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you." She said, before walking over to her door and opening it as Jaune, now slightly inspired by her words, watched her wave. "Have a good night, Jaune!" She said, happily as ever, before going inside.

With new energy, Jaune pushed himself off the ground and faced the door, ready to turn the knob and face his team, but his scroll beeped and he pulled it off of his side to open it, seeing Cardin's contact relaying a message.

"Hey! It's your buddy Cardin! I know you're probably busy with that Dust project I gave you, buuuut I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of Rapier Wasps." He said as Jaune made a terrified sound in response. "And make sure they've got some **really** big stingers! It's important, so don't screw this up!"Cardin warned.

Jaune closed his scroll just when it begins to beep again. He sighed, wearily heading down the hallway and away from his room. Meanwhile, Ryu just sighed and shook his head from around the corner. (Poor bastard.) He thought. "Yes, quite the learning experience, Bayonetta." He said, before heading back to his own dorm.

* * *

The next day...

An overhead shot of a forest bustling with red leaves and gray trunks is seen. After a few seconds, we see Glynda leading teams RWBY, JNPR. CRNL and SCRN through the forest. "Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." She explained.

The group stopped, and Jaune, grunting as he carried a large case with six empty glass jars on top. He tried to catch up with them and ended up bumping into Cardin. The bully scowled at Jaune, who attempted to feign innocence by whistling tunelessly.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!" Glynda finished instructing her group, holding up a full jar of their objective.

While Yang and her sisters smiled at one another, Jaune attempted to (noisily) sneak away from Cardin to his team, but the blackmailer saw this and grabbed Jaune by the back.

"Come on, buddy - let's go!" He said, pulling the smaller boy along.

Jaune miserably looked up at his team, where Nora and Ren were already walking into the forest's depths as Pyrrha stared sadly at the scene. Dropping his gaze, Jaune turned and followed CRDL, to the disappointment of a sighing Pyrrha before she continued on. However, from the trees, Ryu glared at the team of bullies leading Jaune away, before jumping to the next tree, following them into the depths of the forest, unseen.

* * *

Team CRDL made themselves as comfortable as possible by leaning on stones, trees, and the ground as Jaune returned to the group with six full jars, setting them down, before he collapsed face-down. The surrounding team gets up in response.

"Hey, great work, Jauney boy! Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Cardin asked.

Jaune, however. was still on the ground, cross-eyed and sounding dizzy. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff..." He said, stuffed up.

"Greeeeat, great, great. So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?'" Cardin wondered.

"That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes." Jaune confirmed, although still exhausted.

"Well, come with me, and you'll find out." Cardin explained as Jaune sat up, letting out a moans, before gulping in worry.

Still hidden in the trees, Ryu raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What are you up to, Cardin?" He demanded, before following the team.

* * *

Now perched on a hilltop overlooking the other students, team CRDL - plus Jaune, squeezed between Cardin and Russel - peaked their heads over the crest and watched as everyone was retrieving their samples of sap. Ren, kneeling to collect it from a tree, passed a full jar to Nora, who let out an "Mmmm!" at the gift as Ren traded it for the other jar in her care. He turned back to the tree and started filling it up while several licking sounds were heard off-screen until the camera panned back to Nora, now with an embarrassed smile covered in red and an empty jar in her hands.

Jaune turned to his left to face his bully "Cardin, wh-what's going on?" He asked worriedly.

Cardin simply stared at the unsuspecting group sharply. "Payback." He answered.

Jaune widened his eyes in understanding. "Pyrrha...?" He asked as he watched her gather more sap from a tree. "Wh-what are you-?" He asked worriedly.

Ryu glared at them from the tree. He wanted to drop down and beat them all down himself, but they brought Pyrrha into this, so Kratos would want to brutally beat them into paste himself. "You get your wish, Kratos." He said, jumping back through the trees where his group was.

Cardin pounded his fist on the ground. "That's the girl. Red-haired know-it-all, thinks she's so smart. Alright, boys..." He said, pulling out a buzzing cardboard box with a large "W" written on its sides. "Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put him to work."

Russel grabbed Jaune by the shoulder and gave him an encouraging shake, while the blonde boy barely laughed in nervousness.

"Now, according to one of the essays you wrote for me last week, these nasty things loooove sweets." Cardin explained while Pyrrha was finishing her sap collection. "I'm thinking it's time we teach her a thing or two." He said with a sadistic smirk.

The members of CRDL got up. Cardin offered his hand to Jaune, only to painfully yank him up on his feet and shoved the jar into his grasp. "And you're gonna do it."

"Do what?" Jaune asked, still clueless.

"Hit her with the sap!" Cardin ordered, leaning in close to Jaune's face. "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon." He threatened.

Jaune looked down at the jar of sap in his hands and then up at the four grinning teammates waiting to see what would happen. Jaune turned towards the group and aimed his throw at an oblivious and smiling Pyrrha, trying to steel his nerves and shaking hand to do the deed, but ultimately steeled himself for what he was about to do.

"No." Jaune said sternly.

"What did you say?" Cardin demanded.

Gripping the jar tightly Jaune looked over to his bully. "I said... NO!" He snapped, turning and throwing the jar at Cardin, instantly recoiling his hands to himself as he looked at Cardin's breastplate covered in sap. The other team leader, however, just looked at himself and laughed darkly.

"Oh, you've done it now..." Cardin said darkly. Jaune humorously laughed to himself once more with his hands still raised in an attempt for defense as Dove and Sky grabbed Jaune's shoulders and pulled him in. Cardin landed several punches on the smaller male, before one more punch sent him back to the ground. "You _know_ that wasn't very smart, Jauney boy." Cardin taunted as he picked up a bruised Jaune again while the rest of Team CRDL watched. "I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny tiny pieces." He said darkly.

"I don't care what you do to me..." Jaune said defiantly, looking at Cardin with fury. "... But you are not messing with my team."He said seriously.

Cardin looked momentarily shocked, before shaking it off and glaring at the smaller male. "What? You think talk like that makes you tough? You think you're a big strong man now?"

Jaune smiled in defiance. This enraged Cardin, who roared and raised his fist again, but just as the hit connected, a bright light shined from Jaune, and when the white faded from the screen, Cardin cried out in pain as he held his hand. Jaune, now back on the ground but completely healed, looked confusedly at his hands as they faintly glowed white. While he stared, though, Sky kicked Jaune in the back and got him on his stomach, but he looked up and glared at the approaching Cardin.

"Let's see how much of a man you really are..."Cardin said, reaching down for Jaune once again, only to be knocked away by a punch from Kratos.

"He's already more of a man than you." Kratos said, standing protectively between Jaune and the team of bullies as the rest of team SCRN arrived on the scene, Bayonetta pulling Jaune to his feet, before glaring at team CRDL along with the rest of her team.

"What was that, baldie!?" Cardin demanded, getting back up.

Dante scoffed at this. "4 on 1? Win or lose, the only person in that scenario who can call themself a man is the dude fighting on his own, not the four pansies who can't take someone weaker than them by themselves." He taunted.

"Honestly, we don't have to make you look bad anymore. The only one making a fool out of you is yourself." Bayonetta added.

"I knew children who were braver than you. And could fight on their own." Ryu threw more fuel on the flame.

Cardin growled at them, furious. In the back of his mind, he knew that his entire team didn't stand a chance against ONE member of the other team, let alone a fair 4 on 4, but his anger got the better of him. "You want some?! Fine, then. Let's go, guys." Cardin said, readying his weapon along with his team.

"I'll deal with them." Kratos said, activating his Cestus and storming towards the other team. Russel was the first to attack, using his spinning rush attack in an attempt to hit the former god, who simply threw his right fist forward, slamming it into the dagger wielder's back, sending him flying back and skidding to a stop at Cardin's feet. Dove was next, charging in towards Kratos' left while Sky wasn't far behind, more towards Kratos' right. Dove swung his sword downward towards Kratos, who easily blocked it overhead with his left gauntlet while slamming the right into the dirty blonde's stomach, knocking him back as well, before swinging his right fist outward, smashing it into Sky's head, causing him to flip, before falling to the ground, face first. Kratos then spun and fired out the fists of the cestus towards Cardin, who managed to deflect them and rushing in, jumping and swinging his axe down on Kratos, who blocked with the guantlets, the fists having been reeled back and locked into place just in time to stop the mace.

Kratos easily pushed Cardin back and delivered a kick to his stomach that sent him skidding back a few feet, but he managed to bring himself to a stop with his mace, looking up angrily at Kratos, the two preparing to re-engage, before they heard a low growl. Everyone turned towards the scene and see large paw crash onto the scene, belonging to a huge Ursa Major with dozens of jagged spikes sticking out from its wide back. It leapt forward and stood over the shocked (team SCRN) and terrified (CRDL) students, lifting its head in the air to smell the sap on Cardin's breastplate. It landed back on its forelegs and roared at Cardin while his teammates heroically fled. (~Brave team CRDL ran away~)

"That's a big Ursa!"Russel said in fear as he ran.

Cardin was rooted to the spot when the Grimm swung its claws and knocked him sideways. The Ursa continues to sniff, uninterested in team SCRN and Jaune and following its nose to Cardin. They watched at it towered over Cardin, who got his wits and pulled out his mace only for the monster to swipe it away to Jaune's feet. He looked. conflicted, wondering whether to fight or run away.

* * *

Meanwhile, the roar of the giant Ursa is heard by the members of Teams RWBY and JNPR, still collecting sap on the other side of the forest.

"Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asked, concerned as she stood up.

Suddenly, the remaining members of Team CRDL came running the other way from the roar through the other students.

"Ursa! Ursa!" Russel shouted as he looked back, accidentally running into Yang.

She was completely unfazed by his collision, more shocked about the news of an Ursa nearby. She picked him up by the front of his shirt. "What?! Where?!" She demanded.

The idiot struggled, still trying to run in air, but eventually pointed back from where they came. "Back there! It's got Cardin!" He answered.

Pyrrha gasped as she this, dropping her jar of sap "Jaune!" She said, also unaware her brother was currently over there.

Ruby suddenly went into leader mode, directing her team on what to do. "Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!" She ordered. Dropping Russel, Yang and Blake nodded before following the orders.

Pyrrha turned to Ren and Nora as she and Ruby activated their weapons. "You two, go with them! There could be more!" She ordered.

* * *

Cardin attempted to run from the following Ursa, but it leapt over its prey and clawed him away. He tried to get up and crawl away. "Crap! Crap, crap!" He said nervously.

Kratos growled at this. Cardin was not a good person, but he didn't deserve to die. He rushed in, attempting to smash his fist into the monster's head, but the monster turned in time and backhanded him into a tree, grunting in pain as he crashed into it.

"Oh, no!" Pyrrha said as she, Ruby, and Weiss came on to the scene, seeing her brother knocked into a tree.

They watch as the Ursa leaned over the helpless victim, raising its paw and swiping it down... only to be blocked by Jaune's shield, Crocea Mors. He struggled to defend a stunned Cardin from its attempted to lean on him.

Weiss lifted Myrtenaster as she prepares to go help, but Pyrrha held up her hand to stop her. "Wait!" She said.

Ryu and Bayonetta also prepared to help, drawing their katanas, but Dante held them back. "Hang on. Let's see how this goes." He said.

"Now I'm positive you're trying to get him killed." Ryu said, but complied, anyway.

Jaune took the shield out from the Ursa's paw and slashed at its stomach, causing it to lash out and try to crush him. He rolled out of the way and jumped over its swipe at his feet, but he was unprepared for when it launched a claw at him in midair. He landed far away, yet was immediately back on his feet and passing Cardin as he charged again. The Ursa knocked Jaune behind it when he tried a leaping attack, and he looked at the scroll in his shield to find out that his Aura level was in the red. He grew angry again and started to run at the Ursa as it also dashed towards him.

As they were just about to clash in slow-motion, Pyrrha saw that Jaune has left himself completely open to the Ursa's attack and lifted her hand out to him, gathering black energy in her arm. Just as the Ursa was about to hit him, the glow surrounded Jaune's shield and made it lift up to block the swipe. Jaune used the surprise defensive move to lean on the ground, pushed his shield back up, and swung his blade right through the Ursa's neck. The head fell to the ground as the body slammed onto the ground.

"WHOA!" SCR said together in disbelief.

Kratos, however, understood completely. "Pyrrha." He said, looking to his sister.

Ruby was shocked and confused as Pyrrha's hand stopped glowing and she smiled. "Uhhh... What?" She asked.

Weiss was equally amazed at this. "How did you...?" She asked as well.

"Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs and Kratos has his strength... My Semblance is polarity." Pyrrha explained.

"Whoa, you can control poles..." Ruby said in awe.

Bayonetta facepalmed at her sister's response. "Ruby..." She sighed.

"No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!" Weiss explained.

Ruby was still impressed, though. "Magnets are cool, too..." She whispered.

Pyrrha then started to leave. "Wait, where are you going?" She asked.

"Yeah! We gotta tell them what happened!" Ruby agreed.

"We could... Or perhaps we could keep it our little secret?" The redhead suggested, walking away again as Ruby and Weiss smiled to each other in understanding.

"So, Ryu, did this work out better than you expected?" Dante asked teasingly.

Ryu rolled his eyes at this, but nodded. "It actually did." He confirmed.

"Looks like you really underestimated him." Bayonetta said to Kratos as he rejoined the group.

A bruised Jaune sheathed his weapon before going over to Cardin. Cardin, still covered in sap, looked up at Jaune as his savior offered him a hand. Cardin smiled and took it and was lifted back up on his feet.

"Holy crap, Jaune!" He said in disbelief.

"Don't ever mess with my team - my friends - ever again." Jaune said threateningly as he stared Cardin dead in the eye. "Got it?" He demanded.

Cardin looked intimidated, possibly even apologetic. With his order spoken, Jaune tureds and walked away from a still-frozen Cardin. "I did indeed." Kratos said, looking at the blonde with respect and pride.

* * *

Later that night, on top of the dorm building, a uniformed Jaune stood on the edge and looked into the distance at the green lights of Beacon.

"No Cardin tonight?" Pyrrha asked, walking to his side as Kratos stood back towards the window. "I thought you two were best buds?" She asked.

Jaune finally swallowed his pride, turning to her. "Pyrrha... I'm sorry. I was a jerk! You were only trying to be nice, and... I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-" He rambled.

"Jaune! It's okay!" Pyrrha told him, the two sharing a smile.

"Everyone makes mistakes. Learning from them is what's important." Kratos said.

Pyrrha smiled back at her brother as well, before turning back to Jaune. "Your team really misses their leader, you know." She said, beginning to walk to the exit. "You should come down! Ren made pancakes! No syrup, though - you can thank Nora for that!" She said with a giggle.

"That girl is a bottomless pit." Kratos said, turning back with his sister.

Jaune smiles, but held his hand out to them. "Wait!" He called, Pyrrha and Kratos turning around, Jaune looking at them sheepishly. "I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... would you still be willing to help me... to help me become a better fighter?" He asked.

Kratos smirked at this while Pyrrha turned around so a worried Jaune wouldn't see her satisfied smile. She went up to Jaune and suddenly pushed her leader to the ground.

"Hey!" He whined.

Pyrrha simply stood over him with her arms on her hips. "Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground." She said in an evaluating tone. She offered him her hand, which he graciously accepted, and they continue to hold on to and grin at each other. "Let's try that again." She said.

Kratos slightly narrowed his eyes at this as the blonde continued to hold his sister's hand. "Be lucky she's here, because training with me is going to be tough. You'll almost wish Cardin DID get you sent home." He said in an ominous tone, which successfully put the fear of death in Jaune's eyes.


	12. Dark Reveals

The streets of Vale are being decorated in time for the Vytal Festival. Red, yellow, and green streamers and balloons are proudly on display, and teams RWBY and SCRN are strolling through it all with an awed Weiss Schnee in the front. A sign is being put up by the elderly Shopkeep that reads in bright red letters "WELCOME TO VALE!" for all the foreign newcomers from their respective kingdoms of Remnant.

Weiss stopped and raised her arms in amazement. "The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" She said excitedly.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby said,frowning a little. "It's kinda weirding me out..."She admitted, earning a small giggle from Bayonetta.

Weiss quickly turned to her leader. "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" She said, never losing any enthusiasm as they continued walking.

Yang sighed an crossed her arms. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." She said, low-fiving her younger twin when she held her hand out.

"This is nothing new. It may only happen once a year, but the Vytal festival is still pretty common. Pyrrha and I have either attended or been in it a few times." Kratos said, although it slightly sounded like he was gloating.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss snapped at both of them.

"We don't really have anything like this in Atlas. It's not really the kingdom best known for partying. That was probably Vacuo." Dante said.

"Before it was reduced from paradise to wasteland." Ryu stated darkly.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang asked as they stopped near the docks and the sounds of foghorns are heard.

"Ugh, they smell like fish!" Ruby groaned as she held her nose.

Bayonetta sighed at her sister's obvious remark. "And why do you think think that is, dear sister?" She asked rhetorically, to which her little sister rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed.

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss explained as if she was doing the most charitable thing ever.

"You're not even FROM this kingdom." Dante saidsuspiciously.

"No, but now we represent it." She said.

"That CAN'T be the only reason." Kratos said. He's been around Weiss long enough to know she has a dark side and often times, ulterior motives.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake explained.

"THAT makes sense." All of Team SCRN said at once.

Weiss scoffed at this. "You can't prove that!" She said, offended despite it being true.

Ruby suddenly turned her head to the right and saw something shocking "Whoa." The two teams looked at a shattered window down the street and a door full of yellow caution tape of the Vale Police Force before walking over to the detective in front, who was writing on his pad. "What happened here?" She asked

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." He explained, walking over to his partner.

"That's terrible." Yang said, sighing sadly.

"The world's full of people who just take what they want, not caring about the rules anyone else." Bayonetta said.

"They left all the money again." The second Detective said to his partner.

Ruby turned her head when she heard this. "Huh?" She asked, remembering someone else with that particular modus operandi.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" Detective #1 asked.

"I don't know, an army?" Detective #2 suggested.

"Not even we use THAT much Dust." Dante said to Weiss, who nodded. They did use their fair share, but not an entire store full.

"You thinking the White Fang?" Detective #1 asked.

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough." Detective #2 said.

"None of this really points to the White Fang. They usually leave their mark to let people KNOW they did it. And the shopkeep was a human, so they most likely would've killed him. But as we've all seen, he's still alive" Ryu analyzed.

Weiss, however, decided to ignore the sensible analysis. "Hmph! The White Fang." Weiss huffed, crossing her arms and pointing her nose in the air with her eyes closed. "What an awful bunch of degenerates!" She said high and mightily.

"What's your problem?" Blake asked, somewhat annoyed.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss said, still somewhat arrogantly.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths." Blake explained,crossing her arms, getting serious. "They're a collection of misguided Faunus." She corrected.

"Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss said as if Blake was crazy.

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" The black-clad girl countered.

"Dust is a powerful and very useful substance. Plenty of criminals might want it for other crimes." Kratos added.

"Hmm... Blake and Kratos have a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago... Maybe it was him." Ruby suggested.

"Whoever it is, I'm sure either the police or Hunstmen/Huntresses will eventually catch them." Bayonetta said trying to end the conversation calmly, noticing the increasing hostility between Weiss and Blake.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." Weiss said judgmentally, much to Blake's growing anger.

Dante put a hand on Weiss' shoulder at this. He hated the White Fang as much as Weiss, but that's where it stopped for him, while Weiss extended her hated to all Faunus. "Okay, Weiss, that's enough. You've made your point." He told her.

She pushed his hand off at this. "No, I haven't, Dante! You of all people should know that! Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal." She finished.

"That's not necessarily true..." Yang said, trying to reason with Weiss' harsh judgment.

"Yes, Weiss, you're being QUITE racist right now." Bayonetta said.

"Hey, stop that Faunus!" An off-screen sailor shouted

As the team overhears the cry for help and rush over to investigate, a Faunus with a golden monkey tail named Sun Wukong is seen running down the length of the boat and leaping on to the edge as the two sailors are about to apprehend him.

"Well, THAT'S not helping our argument much." Ryu said.

"Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" He laughed as he jumped off the boat and hit the dock running.

"You no-good stowaway!" Another sailor shouted at him.

Sun used his tail to hang on a lamppost while he peeled back a banana. "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" He countered.

"Technically, you were caught." Ryu said, although he knew the Faunus couldn't hear him because of how quietly he spoke and the distance between them. Yes, Ryu had been caught stowing away on an airship before in his past life, but they used high tech equipment and scanned the ship for him, something he doubted happened to the boat had.

Before he could eat, one of the detectives down below threw a stone at him to get his attention. "Hey! Get down from there this instant!" Detective #1 shouted at him.

Sun dropped the banana peel on the detective's face, who growlsed in return. The monkey-like Faunus twirled up to crouch on the lamppost, laughing in amusement, and proceeded to leap off and run away from the detectives. As he ran past Team RWBY, he winked at an astonished Blake in slow motion before time sped up again and he continued to be chased by the officers.

"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..." Yang said as they watched the Faunus retreat from the detectives.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss announced, holding up a finger.

Weiss, Yang, and Ruby gave chase. Blake stood still, lost in thought, then came back to reality and followed her friends. Team SCRN looked at each other and deadpanned, before following their friends. The team rounded the next corner, but then Weiss bumped into someone and tripped. She looked up only to see Sun jump on to a building and disappear from her view.

"No, he got away!" She said, disappointedly.

"That's not what you should worry about." Bayonetta said.

"What do you mean?!" Weiss asked, thinking only how she missed a chance to observe her potential opponent.

"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang asked as she pointed strangely at the girl underneath her teammate.

Weiss finally saw that she fell on a smiling girl, which startled the heiress and she hastily gets up.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" The girl said brightly, still down on the ground, smiling widely.

"Um... hello." Ruby said awkwardly.

"Are you... okay?" Yang asked, somewhere between concerned and confused.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." The girl said happily as ever.

"I think this girl hit her head when Weiss knocked her down." Bayonetta whispered.

The teams looked at each other in bewilderment before Yang spoke up again. "Do you... wanna get up?" She asked.

The girl actually THOUGHT ABOUT whether she wanted to get up off the cold, dirty ground for a moment, before answering. "Yes!" She confirmed, leaping back on her feet while the teams stepped back a little. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She said happily.

Dante pulled the team in a little bit. "I don't think we should introduce ourselves-" He started.

"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby." Ruby introduced herself, to which Dante facepalmed.

"I'm Weiss." Introduced herself.

"Blake." Blake answered with a nod.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asked. Blake elbowed her side for being rude. "Oh, I'm Yang." She confirmed.

"Bayonetta or Cereza, whichever you prefer." Bayonetta greeted.

"Kratos." Kratos introduced himself.

"I am Ryu Hayabusa." Ryu said with a bow the girl actually returned.

"The name's Dante." Datne offered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny said happily.

"You already said that." Bayonetta and Weiss said.

Penny paused at this. "So I did!" She agreed.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Kratos said quietly enough so the girl wouldn't hear.

Everyone else quickly nodded at this. "Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss apologized as they turnd around and started walking away.

"Take care, friend!" Ruby said, waving back.

Bayonetta gave Ruby a small nudge in her elbow. "I wouldn't encourage her, sis." Bayonetta warned.

"She was... weird..." Yang said when they get far enough away from a startled Penny.

"Now, where did that Faunus Riff-Raff run off to?" Weiss asked, looking around.

Suddenly Penny appeared from nowhere in front of the two teams. "What did you call me?" She asked.

"What?! But you were just!" Dante said, looking back and forth as Weiss pointed at the girl in front of her, then behind her where they had left the girl.

"Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!" Yang apologized.

"No, not you." Penny said, walking through the group and leaned her head down to Ruby. "You!" She confirmed.

"Take a few steps back from my sister, girl." Bayonetta warned, pulling out Love Is Blue.

"Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh..." Ruby stammered, startled by the girl in front of her.

"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?" The orange-haired girl asked hopefully.

"Uuuum..." Ruby stammered unsurely. She looked over Penny's shoulder while her teammates motioned to deny her. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?" Ruby confirming that they were friends, while her other friends and sisters comically fainted.

Penny looked overjoyed and laughed "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" She said eagerly.

"Why does that sound familiar?" Bayonetta asked sarcastically.

"Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asked Weiss, knowing she gave the girl the wrong answer.

"No - she seems far more coordinated." The heiress said.

"Her? Coordinated? She couldn't decide to get up until she was asked." Kratos said.

"So... what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament." Penny asked. Kratos burst out in laughter at this, which confused the orange-haired girl. "Why are you laughing? I wasn't trying to be funny." She said, tilting her head.

Kratos opened his mouth to say something, but Ryu covered his mouth. "Sorry about that. He has a condition where he laughs at the most inappropriate times. It really gets him in trouble." The ninja lied.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'll see if I can find some treatments for your condition. Modern medicine and sciences does wonders these days!" She said cheerfully, causing the rest of team SCRN to chuckle at their heavy hitter while he pulled away, grumbling to himself.

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Weiss asked.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny said with a salute.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss stated.

"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake countered.

"What have you done?" Bayonetta and Dante asked at the same time, knowing what would happen.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss stated matter-of-factually, crossing her arms.

Ruby suddenly sped over to her skirt sister's side. "Yeah!" She said as if Weiss just said the greatest thing in the world. Weiss held out her hand and Ruby low-fived it, while their siblings facepalmed.

Weiss suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute." She said, walking over to Penny and grabbing her by the shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?" She asked hopefully.

Does not compute. "The who...?" Penny asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" Weiss demanded, holding up a poor drawing of the criminal-in-question.

"The racist rich girl's back." Bayonetta said disapprovingly.

"Sis, you have many talents, but drawing isn't one of them." Dante said.

"Perhaps a caricature artist." Ryu said, looking at the drawing.

Now Blake was furious. "Why do you keep saying that?!" She snapped.

"Huh?" Weiss asked, turning to her black-clad teammate.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake ranted.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Weiss said dramatically, releasing Penny and motioning to objects around her. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?" She asked.

"Your sister's being a TOTAL bitch right now." Kratos said.

"It's... complicated. And personal." Dante explained.

"Stop it!" Blake snapped.

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!" The heiress countered harshly.

Blake growled at Weiss' increasingly harsh judgment, both of Faunus and the boy in question. "You ignorant little brat!" She snapped.

Weiss looked offended, but when Blake walked away, she followed. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!" She scolded.

"You are a judgmental little girl." Blake countered.

"What in the world makes you say that?" Weiss asked, offended again.

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!" Blake scolded.

"Uh... She's sounding like a total hippie." Kratos groaned.

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion." Ryu said with a shrug.

"In Sparta, different opinions were settled on the battlefield!" Kratos exclaimed, flexing, to which the ninja rolled his eyes and walked away. "Where you going?" He asked, confused.

"Should we stop this?" Bayonetta asked.

"I don't think we can." Dante said.

Yang slid up to Ruby, looking uncomfortable. "Um, I think we should probably go..." She said.

Penny popped up behind Ruby, smiling. "Where are we going?" She asked happily.

Bayonetta jumped at this, before glaring at the girl behind her. "Somewhere you're not coming." She said in an annoyed tone, pushing the androi- I mean, normal meat person!.. Away from her and her sisters.

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss declared as she got Blake to admit it.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" The bow-wearing girl snapped.

* * *

As Yang, Ruby and Team SCRN continue to observe, the scene shifts from afternoon near the docks to nighttime in their dorm room.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss said.

"That is the problem!" Blake countered.

Weiss got up from her bed to stand up more to her teammate. "You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" She snapped.

"Weiss..." Dante tried to stop her, but to no avail.

Blake got on her feet as well. "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" She countered.

"People like me?" Weiss demanded.

"You're discriminatory!" Blake accused.

"I'm a victim!" Weiss proclaimed as they stared each other down in silence. Weiss leaned in close, leering as she spoke quietly. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?" She asked harshly, as if she was about to reveal her deepest secret.

"You're racist?" Bayonetta asked.

"Everyone, enough. This is hard enough for her to say." Dante said, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder.

She leaned against the bookshelf by the window, looking out it into the distance. "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." She admitted, banging her fist on the bookshelf. "They even tried to kill my whole family once! When we were younger, they attacked our house. We all would've died if it wasn't for Dante." She said, grabbing her brother's hand on her shoulder.

"They aimed the gun at my mother and I snapped. If it had been anyone else, or they started with me, we wouldn't be here right now." Dante added.

"But they're here because of you. That's what's important." Bayonetta said with a supportive smile.

Ruby tried to go over and comfort her partner. "Weiss, I-" She started.

"No!" Weiss snapped, turning away and walking back over to Blake. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" She shouted.

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake shouted back.

Silence drops down on the scene again. A surprised Weiss backs away slowly, and Blake realizes her mistake as she looks around at her teammates.

"You're a Faunus?" Kratos asked.

"I thought I saw your bow move from time to time. I never thought anything of it..." Ryu said, slightly shocked. He could usually pick out everything about a person within a few minutes of meeting them.

Blake, however, interpreted their shock and disbelief as betrayal and resentment, which might be true in Weiss' case. "I... I..." She started, before dashing out the door.

"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby pleaded, running over to the door and calling to her down the hallway as Yang sat herself down and Weiss looked down.

"Weiss, that went way too far..." Dante told his sister.

* * *

Blake ran outside and arrived at a statue of an armored man with a sword and a hooded woman wielding an axe on an outcropping, staring at the Beowolf under the stone heroes in particular.

She closed her eyes and slowly lifted her arms up to her bow and pulled the string to release the bow from her hair. She wipes away a tear away as the camera pulled up to reveal her Faunus ears. On the verge of crying, she became startled when she heard a voice above her.

"I knew you would look better without the bow." The voice called off-screen.

She turned around and looked up.

* * *

The scene shifts to morning at Beacon. Ruby woke up from her beauty sleep, yawning in the process. She looked over at Blake's empty bunk, and groaned sadly.

* * *

The scene then shifts again to Ruby, Weiss, and Yang walking through the empty streets of Vale.

"She's been gone all weekend..." Ruby said sadly.

"We've almost searched the entire city." Ryu added.

"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself!" Weiss said as if trying to disregard the subject.

"Weiss, come on." Yang said.

How can you say that? She's one of your teammates!" Bayonetta said. In both this and her past life, those she fought alongside had grown as close to her as family.

"Is she? We all heard what she said!" Weiss countered.

"Weiss..." Ruby sighed.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing, and we need to find her!" Yang said urgently.

"Unfortunately, there's a good chance she's trying NOT to be found." Kratos threw in.

"A member of the White Fang! Right underneath our noses!" Weiss said in disbelief.

"But she's not now. She left them and that's all that matters. We know what they do to people who try to leave them. It couldn't have been easy for her." Dante reasoned with his sister.

"I just hope she's okay..." Ruby said worriedly.

* * *

Elsewhere, Blake was sipping a cup of tea and sighing. She looked up at Sun sitting across from her, who held his drink with his tail as his hand propped his head up. He took a sip when Blake put her cup down.

"So, you want to know more about me..." Blake said.

"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you gave me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" Sun said, to which Blake gave him a firm look. "Yeah, like that." He confirmed.

Blake rolled her eyes before closing them and looking at him sadly. "Sun... Are you familiar with the White Fang?" She asked.

"Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!" He said.

Blake sipped her drink while listening until she spoke up for the big reveal. "I was once a member of the White Fang." She explained.

Sun promptly went cross-eyed and choked on his drink, making him put it down and wipe his mouth as he held up a hand to process this information. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!" He asked in disbelief.

"That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it..." She explained.

The scene shifts to a simple silhouetted flashback of fallen weapons plunged into the ground - swords, guns, any number of combinations.

"Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus." She explained.

We see the dark outlines of two trios - animal-eared and tailed Faunus on one side, regular Humans on the other - shaking hands and making peace after their struggle. This does not last long, as seen by a white Faunus cowering in fear of the gray-and-black aggressors harassing the hybrid. Later, more Faunus are pushing the crowd away from their bullied brethren.

"Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people. And I was there." She went on.

Silhouettes of Faunus protestors are revealed, and emerging from the shadows is a young girl with dark hair and cat ears.

"I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist." She said almost nostalgically.

Cutting from the child version of Blake, the blue flag of a white wolf with sad eyes and a circle behind its head is lowered, and raised in its stead is a red monster with three bloody scratches and teeth bared at the world.

"Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking." She explained.

A quick series of images are shown - Faunus replacing their picket signs with axes and blades, windows being broken, thieves leaping on trains to steal their cargo.

"Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear." She said remorsefully.

The flashback showed one more image of three Faunus individuals standing in a dominating manner with malicious grins until Blake put down her teacup in front of a stunned Sun.

"So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am: a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." She finished, wiggling her cat ears beneath the fashionable disguise to demonstrate.

Sun finally came to terms with this. "So... have you told your friends any of this?" He asked.

Blake merely looked down in shame and said nothing.

* * *

"Blaaaake!" Ruby called.

"Blaaaake!" Yang yelled out as well.

The scene transitions to Ruby, Yang, and Weiss walking through town and calling in vain for their missing teammate. Bayonetta then dropped off the roof of a building beside them, narrowly missing Weiss as she landed beside the heiress, turning to her sisters. "I couldn't find her on the South end of town." She said sadly.

A falcon started flying down towards the group, turning back into Ryu about 8 feet in the air, the ninja landing in front of the group in a 3 point landing. "No sign of her on the East end." He said.

Kratos was next to rejoin the group, crossing the road and telling them his story. "Nothing on the North end, either." He said.

Dante was the last to reconvene with the group, catching up behind them. "I looked everywhere. She's not on the West side, I'm sorry." He said.

Ruby looked discouraged at this, before continuing to scream. "Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?" She called out.

"Blake!" Yang called.

"If we ever do find her, we're getting a tracker put on that girl." Bayonetta said.

Ruby turned to Weiss. "Weiiiiss, you're not helping!" She whined.

"Oh! You know what might be able to help? The police!" The heiress said as if it were ovious.

Ruby crossed her arms in irritation. "Ugh, Weiss..." She said sternly to her partner.

"It was just an idea!" Weiss defended her actions.

"Yeah, a bad one." Ruby said, getting increasingly annoyed by the heiress' actions.

Dante, as well, was getting annoyed at the actions of his twin. "Weiss, you should be putting in the most effort to find her, here. You WERE the one that pretty much chased her off." He said.

Weiss, however, scoffed at her brother's accusations. "I simply told her the painful truth of why I was so critical with my opinion of the White Fang, she's the one who told us she was a terrorist." She said.

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang reasoned as she followed Ruby.

"I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!" Weiss said arrogantly as ever as she followed Yang.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Penny was following behind Weiss. "And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!" She said, revealing her presence.

The group quickly turned around, startled at the sudden presence behind them, Team SCRN reaching for their weapons. "Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?" Ruby asked, slightly startled.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" Penny asked, cheerfully ignoring the question.

"Freaking stalker..." Bayonetta said under her breath.

"Uhh..." Ruby asked awkwardly, both from Penny's surprise appearance and her sister's comment.

"We're looking for our friend, Blake." Yang explained

"Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl!" Penny realized.

The group just stared at Penny in shock she immediately knew something they didn't realize after knowing her for few months. "Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny said, points to her head as if it were obvious.

Yang laughed a little at this. "What cat ears? She wears a... boooohhh..." She said as the realization sunk in.

The realization left them in silence as a tumbleweed blew through in the wind. "She does like tuna a lot..." Ruby realized.

"And she DID hiss at that stray dog that came up to us when we all went out for lunch." Ryu added.

"So, where is she?" Penny asked.

"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday." Ruby explained.

Penny gasped at this."That's terrible!" She said, approaching an uncomfortable Ruby. "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!" She said determinedly.

"Get your hands off my-" Bayonetta said protectively, about to throw the girl halfway across Vale to get her away from Ruby, before Kratos grabbed her shoulder and started pulling her away.

Ruby does her best to keep smiling. "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?" She asked, looking to her friends for help.

She looked over Penny to direct her question at Yang, Weiss and Team SCRN, whose blinking outlines are all that's left of their sudden departure from the company of the strange girl. A tumbleweed blew past them again in the quiet.

"It sure is windy today!" Penny said.

* * *

Team SCRN escaped the strange girl by quickly heading to the rooftops. "Whew. Glad we didn't have to deal with that girl." Dante said, relieved.

"No, but we left my sister to deal with them." Bayonetta said, annoyed.

"I think she's got a few screws lose." Kratos said.

"Certainly a few gears in that girl's head aren't turning." Ryu agreed.

"Well, we'd better keep searching for Blake. There's only a few hours left until a big Dust shipment will come in. And after that train car was raided, I'm personally going to make sure nothing happens." Dante said.

"Then we'll all help out. If shit goes down, I'm not letting you have all the fun." Kratos said.

Dante smirked at this. "Then you better keep up." He said as they started running across the rooftops.

* * *

Sun and Blake are then seen walking down an alley. "So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked with his hands behind his head.

"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before." Blake contemplated.

"What if they did?" Sun asked, widening his eyes, lowering his arms and pacing in front of Blake as he continued his theory. "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?" He asked, hoping his idea made sense.

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be." Blake said unsurely.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas." Sun offered.

"How huge?" Blake asked.

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter." He explained.

"You're sure?" She asked.

* * *

Yang came out of a shop with Weiss waving to the person inside. "Thanks anyways!" She said, but sighing as she closed the door. "This is hopeless." She said, before shooting a small glare at Weiss when she looked around nonchalantly. "You really don't care if we find her, do you?" She asked.

"Don't be stupid; of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her." The heiress said harshly as she walked forward, calling over her shoulder. "The innocent never run, Yang!" She reasoned while Yang looked down in thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ruby was trying to survive Penny's onslaught of curious questions.

"So, Blake is your friend?" Penny asked.

Ruby sighed as they made their way down the sidewalk. "Yes, Penny." She confirmed.

"But you're mad at her?" The orange-haired girl asked again.

"Yes. Well, I'm not. Weiss is." The cape-wearer answered again.

"Is she friends with Blake?" The cybor- I mean, curious girl, asked.

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now..." Ruby said unsurely.

Penny tried to contemplate this, but failed. "But why?" She asked.

Ruby sighed again. "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we though she was..." She tried to explain.

Penny gasped as she came up with a theory. "Is she a man?" She asked in shock.

"No! No, Penny. She's..." Ruby started to correct her, but stopped and sighed, looking at Penny as she spoke again. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off." She explained.

"I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things." The and... orange-haired girl said.

Ruby turned her gaze downward sadly. "Me too..." Sh said sadly as they continued walking.

* * *

Amidst the chirping of crickets and darkness of night, Blake layid flat on her stomach on the rooftop overlooking the shipment of Schnee Dust containers.

"Did I miss anything?" Sun asked as he dropped down beside her.

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there." She explained.

"Cool." He said simply, holding out one of the green apples in his arms. "I stole you some food!" He said.

Blake gave Sun a questioning look. "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" She asked.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun defensively countered. Blake delivered an angry glare at this. "Okay, too soon!" He countered.

Just as he said this, the winds blew all around them, and they looked up to see a Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of. "Oh no..." Blake said.

"Is that them?" Sun asked.

"Yes... It's them." Blake confirmed, staring at the bloody wolf on the back of the man's outfit.

"All right, grab the tow cables!" The White Fang soldier ordered the other White Fang members coming from the aircraft, motioning with his rifle.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked.

"No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." She said as she stared sadly at the scene, closing her eyes in despair. But she suddenly opened them when she heard a new voice.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" Roman demanded, the soldiers looking up at him, gesturing widely as he came down the ramp. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?" He ordered.

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." She said as she stood up and unsheathed the katana of Gambol Shroud before walking off the edge of the roof.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun asked, alarmed.

Blake fell to the ground in a crouch, then continued on to hide behind one of the containers, peeking around the corner to see Roman berating a White Fang member holding a coil of rope.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" He snapped as he looked around, Blake suddenly appeared behind him with her blade at his throat. "What the- Oh, for f-" H groaned, rolling his eyes when he's cut off by Blake mid-swear.

"Nobody move!" Blake ordered. The White Fang soldiers readied their guns and equip their swords in response.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Roman said worriedly.

As the White Fang closed in on her, Blake used her free hand to go for her bow and removed it, causing the ribbon to fall away as her Faunus ears were shown to the world. "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" She asked as if they've done something unforgivable (ironic, don't you think?). The White Fang members lowered their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do, when Roman laughed.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" He asked condescendingly, as if he were still in the position of power.

"What are you talking about?" Blake demanded.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!" He explained.

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." She threatened.

Suddenly, the air was filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..." Roman said, looking up to see two more Bullheads hovering above the heist. And as Blake watched in horror, she was suddenly hit in the back by something incredibly fast, and it felt as if a giant snake had slammed into her back with its moth open, hitting her in the small of her back and between her shoulders. She screamed in pain as she was knocked to the ground, bouncing and tumbling about ten feet away..

She then heard some sadistic cackling as she looked back to see who attacked her: a man wearing a hooded yellow cape with black markings and large rolled-up cuffs along with long black ribbons and bandages across his arms. He also wore an open shirt beneath his vest that shows his chest, a loose black tie, two belts, and black pants. Blake was shocked and terrified as she saw his glowing yellow eyes, similar to hers, but far more snake-like. He spun around a balisongs (butterfly knives) as he walked up. He was Yuuki Terumi, a man obsessed with plunging the world into chaos and despair. "Jeez, Roman, you couldn't tell this little punk was sneaking up on you? I can smell that bitch's cat stench from here." He said in a taunting manor, looking at Roman with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm a little preoccupied at the moment!" Roman countered, before gaining his own smirk. "Still a little busy, actually, so would you mind taking out our trash here?" He asked.

Terumi chuckled sadistically at this. "With pleasure." He said, walking up to the girl with a menacing glare. "I despise cats, bitch, so I'm REALLY going to enjoy this!" He said, launching out a black snake head with glowing green eyes, connected to him by chain, which flew straight at the defenseless Faunus. But time suddenly slowed down as Bayonetta and Ryu jumped onto the scene, Bayonetta landing beside Blake and picking her up bridal style, jumping to safety while Ryu stood and blocked the snake with Dabilahro, before turning it into the Howling Cannon and firing the weapon, blasting the hooded man back into a container.

"That stench. You reek of evil, worse than any fiend or Grimm." Ryu said, taking his stance.

Terumi grunted in pain, shifting himself into a sitting position, before glaring at Ryu. "Another DAMN ninja? Well, at least your not a scruffy loudmouth." He said, getting up and preparing to fight.

Meanwhile, Bayonetta set Blake down outside of the danger zone, checking her for injuries as she threatened to fall unconscious from the pain and stress. "Still with us, Kitty?" She asked, scratching Blake's cat ears.

"Nyaaa~" Blake purred at having her ears scratched, before realizing what was happening, pulling away from Bayonetta and glaring at her. "Don't ever do that again." She warned.

"If you say so, but it certainly looked like you were enjoying it." The former witch said, looking back to the fight and ignoring the glare the Faunus gave her. "So, you still up for a fight? Your monkey friend is certainly shaking a tail out there." Bayonetta joked as she pointed to Sun taking on several White Fang and Torchwick, firing several rounds from his cane, which the monkey Faunus either dodged or blocked by spinning his staff.

"I'm ready!" She said, rushing in to help Sun.

"Well, that was fun. I hope I get a chance to play with her ears again." Bayonetta said, starting to head back to help Ryu and Dante fight Terumi, but suddenly, someone dropped right in front of her, spinning and throwing a round kick, catching Bayonetta in the jaw and launching her back a ways, but she recovered and landed in her signature cat pose. She then looked at her attacker: a woman with pink eyes and black hair made into two horn-like pigtails fastened with pink ribbons, wearing a purple dudou (a form of Chinese underwear) on her chest supported with eight straps that meet on her back, forming a spider pattern. She wears long, baggy, off-white colored sweat pants and purple tights, and long, fingerless gloves. Her fingernails and toenails are painted bright pink. She wears Taekwondo foot wraps on her feet. She is Juri Han, a woman whose main pleasure in life is to bring harm and death to others. "Hm.. You look like you're in good shape. I can probably have some fun with you." Juri said, licking her lips.

Bayonetta got to her feet and took her stance once again, preparing to fight. "Sorry, crazy lady, but I don't swing that way." Bayonetta said, before rushing in.

 **Background Music: "This is War" by 30 Seconds to Mars**

Terumi blocked Ryu's Dragon Sword with his butterfly knives, before managing to push the ninja back, attempting to slash at his stomach, but Ryu jumped back ten feet. Terumi launched Ouroboros (the snake spear thing) to catch Ryu when he landed, but it was destroyed by a line of icicles across the ground, coming from Dante, who wielded Cerberus. "Another asshole with white hair dressed in red? You fuckers just love being a pain in my ass, don't you?!" He demanded, rushing in at Dante, knives at the ready.

"Sorry. I just tend to screw with people plans when they hurt my friends or screw with my family's business!" Dante said, pulling out Rebellion and clashing with Terumi, who managed to dodge or block all the strikes Dante attempted to land, as well as throwing a few of his own, before Dante tried for a stinger, which the green-haired man managed to dodge and throwing his hand forward, creating a snake of green and black energy that slammed into Dante and knocked him back.

Back with Bayonetta, she was finding the girl in front of her to be a decent match, the two equals in terms of speed and skill, but she was currently only fighting with Love Is Blue. She decided to switch it up and and fight with Rakshasa, forcing the girl more on the defensive, as she had no weapons, but she was still a threat. She dodged a slash and managed to land a kick to the back of Bayonetta's leg, causing her to falter a bit, opening her up for an uppercut, staggering her and opening. "This is the end for you!" Juri said, rushing and delivering a whirlwind of kicks, taking the two of them into the air, before she delivered an axe kick, sending Bayonetta back to the ground. But before she could reach the ground, Juri dove downward, reaching the ground first and thrusting her leg upwards to catch Bayonetta, slamming her foot into the small of the Umbran's back, stunning her for a moment. "That felt good, didn't it?" She asked, starting to swing her leg down.

However, she made a fatal mistake, taking her brief moment to taunt Bayonetta gave her just enough time to recover, allowing her to use her semblance and freeze time. With that, she stretched a moment before getting off the girl's foot and walked around to face her. "It certainly felt better than this is going to." Bayonetta smirked, equipping her wrist chainsaws and landing several slashes on Juri, before changing them to Lt. Kilgore and landing several more hits with them, before finishing her brutal combo with a blast from the rocket ends of the tonfa, blasting Juri back. "Funny, you claimed it was the end for me, but from where I'm standing, it looks like it's only the beginning." Bayonetta taunted.

Juri got up slowly, glaring at the girl who just dealt her great damage. "Oh, I'm just getting started! Try this!" She shouted, flinging a blade of pink energy from her leg after throwing a kick.

Bayonetta prepared to defend against it, but Kratos dropped down in front of her, blocking the energy blade with his golden fleece, changing it into a ball of golden energy, before flinging it back and knocking her down.

Ryu had recovered as Dante was fighting Terumi, throwing his Windmill Shuriken at the madman after he knocked Dante back, catching him by surprise and catching him off-guard. "I'm getting really tired of this shit, ninja boy!" He shouted, flinging Ouroboros at Ryu again, only to miss as the ninja suddenly vanished.

"You and me both." Ryu's voice came from behind him, turning around to see Ryu in the air above him, dropping down and slamming his own tonfas into the snake-eyed man's head, stunning him and allowing Ryu land several bone-crushing hits to his enemy. But as he continued his assault, he felt himself slowly being drained, wearing down far sooner than he normally would. He landed one more powerful smack to the head, before dropping to one knee, panting heavily. "How?" He asked.

"Aww, feeling a little drained, are we? Well, you should be. That's my semblance. I can drain the aura of those who are close enough to me. It can't take all of it or kill anybody, but that saves the fun for me." He said, readying his knives again before something wrapped around his throat, yanking him back and flinging him into the air, slamming him into the ground. "Goddammit, learn to stay down, kid!" He snapped, looking back at Dante, who reeled back the last link of Cerberus he had wrapped around Terumi's neck.

"Yeah, I never was the easiest person to bring down. Let's see how far you manage to get." Dante said, readying Nevan. Terumi threw Ouroboros forward, but Dante turned the guitar into a scythe, destroying the snake head again. Terumi then rushed in with his knives, but Dante turned the weapon back into a guitar and hit a powerful chord, unleashing a powerful sound wave that blasted the madman back. "Snakes are fine and everything, but I prefer bats." Dante said, strumming and launching a swarm of electric bats at the snake-eyed man, who struggled to stop them with his knives and the occasional energy snake wave, but a few of them still hit him and made him tumble back.

"Alright, no more bullshit!" Terumi snapped, using Ouroboros to grapple to a building and reeling himself away from the path of electric bats, before dispersing it and firing a new one right in front of Dante, landing in front of him and landing a few quick slashes to him, before he recovered and started defending and attacking again. However, much like Ryu, Dante slowly began feeling his aura being drained from being in close proximity to the madman for a prolonged amount of time.

Dante used Stinger one more time, pushing Terumi back after he blocked, before dropping down on one knee, supporting himself with Rebellion. "You sure you're not a Faunus, too? Because you're a real fucking leach!" Dante snapped.

"Wow, you really are like that other little prick in red. He always resorted to talking shit after her was beaten, too. And just like him, I'll put you down for it. And no one's stopping me this time!" Terumi said, walking up and readying his knives to finish Dante, but suddenly, Ryu jumped over his leader, grabbed Terumi by the head, flipped over him and threw him off a good distance, causing him to bounce off the ground hard.

Ryu then turned to Dante and did some quick hand signs, before pointing to his leader, a green energy surrounding him. Dante then felt his strength returning and got back up. "Did I ever tell you yours is my favorite semblance on this team?" Dante asked.

"Well, it hasn't fixed everything. He's not done yet." Ryu said, looking back as Terumi got back up, looking furious.

"Goddammit, you little pricks just never know when to stay the hell out of my way!" He snapped, flinging Ouroboros again, but Ryu easily sliced it in half.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dante asked.

"Rising Dragon and Izuna Drop." Ryu confirmed.

"Let's rock!" Dante said, equipping Ifrit and rushing in to the left while Ryu ran to the right. The two attacked from opposite sides and were beginning to quickly overwhelm the madman, Dante finding an opening after Terumi blocked an attack from Ryu, throwing and hitting him with a powerful rising, burning uppercut, launching him into the air, Ryu jumping up after him, grabbing him from behind in a tight lock and spinning like a corkscrew for extra torque as they plummeted towards the ground.

While this was happening, Juri got back up and glared at her new opponent. "Two on one, huh? Maybe now, I'll have an actual challenge." Juri said eagerly, licking her lips.

Kratos scoffed at this. "If you couldn't beat Bayonetta alone, then you have no chance against the two of us. Surrender now and maybe we won't hand you over to the cops with all of your bone broken. Just some." He offered.

She growled at the fact someone thought they could look down on her and call her weak. "Oh, I'll break you alright! Just you wait!" She snapped, rushing in. She rushed in and jumped, attempting to slam both feet into Kratos, but he blocked and pushed her back with the Cestus, allowing Bayonetta to run in and throw a flying kick, knocking her back.

"You'll have to pick up the pace if you want to catch us off-guard, lady." Bayonetta taunted.

Juri growled at this at first, but then smirked. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." She said. Suddenly, her left eye flashed bright pink and began to glow fiercely. She suddenly vanished, rushing in and slamming her foot into Bayonetta's chest, launching her back, before turning to Kratos and throwing a furious barrage of kicks, some charged with the pink energy, managing to make Kratos stagger a bit, despite blocking most of them before, just like with Bayonetta, she unleashed a tornado of kicks, pink energy swirling around them and taking them into the air before she delivered an axe kick to Kratos, sending him down to the ground, passing him and catching him with her foot, slamming him into the ground, then kicking him beside Bayonetta as she started getting up.

"That bitch!" He snapped, about to rush in, but she then smirked and vanished. "Shit!" He snapped.

"Back to back!" Bayonetta said. The two of them turned their backs to each other and pressed them together, prepared for an attack from all sides. The woman was relentless: disappearing, attacking viciously and disappearing before they had a chance to counter attack.

However, she made a crucial error: she assumed she would be able to take them down almost instantly before she would expend a serious amount of energy, but they had proven to be more resilient than she thought. She began slowing down a bit, long enough for Kratos to come up with a counterattack. "Enough!" He shouted, raising the Blade of Remnant (Olympus), creating a dome of electricity around them, managing to shock and stun her, allowing him to blast her back with a ball of electricity.

She growled at this, noticing she was slowing down even more and her glow was becoming somewhat feint. She had one more big attack left before she would be back to normal level, which was less than ideal at this point. She began spinning rapidly and throwing a massive onslaught of energy blades at the two. Knowing he wouldn't be able to counter them all with the fleece, Kratos instead drew his shield and spear, defending against the onslaught while Bayonetta flashily dodged all of them. Finally, the barrage stopped and Juri was left panting heavily, her glow completely dying down to nothing. "It's still not over! I landed a few good hits on each of you. I can still bring you down!" She snapped, rushing in.

"You know what to do?" Bayonetta asked, looking at Kratos.

"Just waiting on you." He said, readying himself.

Juri rushed in and threw a kick Bayonetta stopped with a punch to the knee, freezing time when Juri was left open, landing several dozen lighting fast strikes, before restarting time and jumping away as Juri staggered back. She looked up with a glare, only for that to change to a look of horror as she saw the snarling lion of Kratos' Cestus coming at her face as he threw a massive haymaker. Picture a split screen now where at the same time as the punch lands on Juri's face, Ryu preforms the Izuna Drop and piledrives Terumi into the ground, the two final attacks knocking the villains out.

 **End Music**

The battle was coming to a close. All the while Team SCRN had fought Roman's enforcers, Blake, Sun and... Penny?! Were dealing with the remainder of the White Fang, the orange-haired girl firing lasers, slicing through a Bullhead and sinking her swords into another one. Seeing things take an increasing turn for the worst, Roman decided it was time to run. "These kids just keep getting weirder!" He said as he ran onto the Bullhead, flipping his cane and catching it from the end he normally shoots from, firing the curve of his cane like a hook to catch Juri by her pants and reeling her back onto the Bullhead, while Ryu and Date had deemed Terumi no longer a threat, rushing in to help the others, but unfortunately, the noise from take-off woke him up and as he saw Roman's Bullhead about to retreat, he shot one more glare at the Huntsmen-in-training who defeated him, before using Ouroboros to grapple up to the Bullhead, getting in just before the doors closed.

"Damn! They got away!" Dante snapped.

"Well, we managed to save the shipment." Bayonetta said brightly, looking around at several destroyed and fiery crates. "Mostly." She added.

"But at least several members of the White Fang were subdued. And they won't be going anywhere any time soon." Ryu said as several police cars showed up, the White Fang members raising their hands in surrender. "It's a blow to their numbers. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless." He finished.

"And we finally found Blake." Kratos said, gesturing over to where Ruby, Blake, Penny and Sun were as Weiss and Yang walked onto the scene. "Be ready in case she runs again." He whispered to Bayonetta as they walked up to the scene.

Ruby got up to quickly explain the situation to Weiss before she could burst out in anger. "Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..." She explained quickly, but Weiss ignored her and stood in front of Blake.

Blake held her ground and looked calmly at her teammate. "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-" She started.

"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" She asked, pausing to see Blake's reaction. "Two days. That means I've had two days to think about this. And in those two days, I've decided..." She paused, taking a deep breath as Team SCRN, Yang, Sun, and Ruby look on, worried. "I don't care." She finally answered. (I know it was twelve hours, but everyone else said two days)

"You don't care?" Blake asked, surprised.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-" She started to explain.

"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah!" Weiss quickly silenced her, to which the entirety of team SCRN rolled their eyes. "I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..." She paused, looking at Sun behind her before she caught herself. "Someone else." She said.

Dante smiled at this and put a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Proud of you, sis." He said proudly.

Blake looking at Ruby and Yang grinning at her. She wiped a tear from her eye, before nodding. "Of course." She agreed.

Weiss smiled and nodded. The moment is serious for a second more until... "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheered, waving her arms wildly.

Bayonetta laughed at this. "I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same." She said, pulling her sisters into a hug.

As the two teams gathered with each other, Weiss pointed accusingly at Sun. "I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" She warned, to which Sun laughed nervously.

"She did have ONE point, you did technically break the law." Ryu said.

"Twice now." Blake added.

Ruby suddenly looked around as she realized something. "Hey, wait a minute... Where's Penny?" She asked.

Everyone looked around for a moment, before Kratos looked at Ryu. "Damn I thought you were the ninja. You guys are usually the ones who disappear without a trace." He said, to which Ryu rolled his eyes.

From the darkened back seat of a limo, Penny watched the group of friends reuniting with each other. "You should know better than to go running around in a strange city." Penny's driver said to her.

"I know, sir." Penny said sadly, lowering her head.

"Penny, your time will come..." The driver said to her as the car drove off from the scene.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ozpin is seen holding a Scroll showing a "LIVE FEED" of Ruby at the docks. He closes the video and opens up a communication with Qrow, whose team name and other information is left blank and his only message is: "QUEEN HAS PAWNS."

"Hmmm..."Ozpin wondered.

The scenes cuts to a view of Beacon Academy bathed in the light of the nearly-full moon.

* * *

Later, Roman, Terumi and Juri walked back into a warehouse with a shadowy interior. Roman went over to a table and placed down a case of mysterious contents, sighing in tiredness.

"Damn, that was rough. I didn't expect those brats in training would be that tough." Terumi grumbled, sitting at a table and putting his head down on it, holding his head.

"Well, at least you didn't get a wedgie during the escape." Juri said, glaring at Roman.

"Would you prefer I left you there?" He asked with some attitude. "Besides, those straps on your shirt wouldn't hold you. If I tried grabbing that, it'd rip off before you even left the ground and you'd be standing their flashing anyone lucky enough to be there." He said with a smirk at the though.

"How very disappointing, Roman." A voice called out.

Roman quickly turned around in surprise when he heard the voice and their noisy entrance. "Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..." He said, nervously.

Cinder was one of the 5 figures before Roman, only her head, containing yellow eyes and flowing dark hair, was visible. "We were expecting... more from you."

Roman laughed a little before getting serious. "Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang." He said, annoyed.

Cinder chuckled darkly at this. "And you will continue to do so." She warned summoning a fireball in her hand and stepped out of the darkness with her four companions, the first two being Mercury and Emerald, who stayed beside her while the other two, one of them being Medusa, walked passed Roman to sit at the table with Terumi and Juri. "We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is... a little cooperation." Cinder explained with an evil little smile.

Meanwhile, the resurrected villains at the table began to chat. "So, I heard you took quite the thrashing from a couple of Huntsmen and Huntresses that were still in their training wheels." The still unknown figure taunted.

"Shut it, you damn vampire! They were AT LEAST on par with that Qrow bastard you and I took on before!" Terumi snapped.

"And we both had to deal with two of them." Juri added.

"So, now do you believe we need more soldiers in order to accomplish our mission?" Medusa asked.

"I'm considering it." Juri said, looking away, not wanting to admit she was at a disadvantage.

"Fine, we'll do it your way." Terumi agreed with an angry huff.

The final figure scoffed at this idea. "There is still no need as far as I'm concerned." He said, leaning into the light, revealing a man with unkempt blonde hair with terrifying fangs, wearing a yellow jacket with a tight black tank-top underneath, as well as yellow chaps with an exposed crotch. His face is now in full-view and on his head is a green heart-shaped circlet to match his knee guards. "For the next time the interfere with our plans, it will not be any of you weaklings they deal with. No, the one they will face will be I, DIO!" The man shouted, slamming his fist on the table.


	13. Someone Dies

A ship flew through the skies over Vale and the camera panned down to the city streets. The owner of the Dust shop was hanging a sign declaring its re-opening. As he climbed down from his ladder, he stumbled and fell. Emerald Sustrai appeared next to him.

She giggled at the man on the ground before speaking. "'Scuse me, sorry. I'm not really from around here." She explained as she helped him to his feet. "Would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop" She asked, producing a piece of paper with writing on it and the shopkeep looks it over.

"Hmm? Mm-hmm." He confirmed in mumbles.

Emerald walked away from the shop owner as both waved goodbye and passed Mercury Black at a corner.

"I knew you were lost." He taunted.

"Mercury, I will seriously pay you to shut up." She bribed him, producing a wallet with Lien and waved it in Mercury's face.

"That's not your money." He told her.

"But it can be yours for 5 minutes of silence." She offered.

"Mmmm... no deal." He declined.

"Fine." She grumbled, taking the Lien and tossing the wallet, turning to walk away.

"Whatever. You want me." He smirked. We now see the duo walking through the city. "So, how much farther?" He asked.

"A few blocks." She confirmed.

"Ugh... this place is so dull." Mercury complained.

"Eh, I kinda like it. Tall buildings, diverse culture..." Emerald listed.

"And nice dopey people who are easy to pickpocket." Mercury cut her off.

Emerald stopped. "That's every city." She corrected.

"Ooh, Emerald! Master thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by!" He pleaded, pretending to be a victim. Emerald glared at him, groaning angrily. She then walked away from him. "Ugh... you're no fun today." He grumbled, following close behind her.

The scene shifted to Emerald and Mercury entering a shop full of books. The shop owner could be heard humming a tune. Mercury stopped near the door to look at books while Emerald approached the counter and rings a service bell.

"Be right there!" The owner called. Emerald looked back at Mercury. The shop owner was seen through a set of double doors carrying stacks of books as he walked backwards and out toward the counter. "Welcome to 'Tukson's Book Trade', home to every book under the sun!" He stated the slogan as he set the stacks down off-screen. "How may I..." He started, turning around. He gasped and hesitated upon recognizing the two of them. Mercury was now holding a book. "How may I help you?" He asked.

Mercury looked to the store owner. Although the book was open, Mercury was looking at Tukson. "Just browsing." He said, shutting the book.

"Actually, I was wondering, do you have any copies of 'The Thief and The Butcher'?" Emerald asked.

"Yes we do." He confirmed.

"That's great." Emerald said excitedly.

"Would you... like a copy?" He asked awkwardly.

"No, just wondering." She dismissed. Mercury closed another book. "Oh, oh! What about 'Violet's Garden'? In paperback?" She wondered.

"He's got it. Hardback too." Mercury answered first, producing another book.

"Ooh, options are nice." She said, appearing to think for a moment.

"Eh, no pictures." Mercury scoffed, closing the book. "Hey! Do you have any comics?" He asked.

"Near the front." The owner answered.

"Oh, no, wait!" Emerald said as if she'd made a decision. The music score became decidedly more menacing as the camera zoomed in on Emerald. "What... about... 'Third Crusade'?" She asked.

The owner hesitated, visibly unnerved. "Um... I..." Mercury and Emerald were eyeing him carefully. "...Don't believe we carry that one." He said.

Mercury slammed another book shut. "Oh." He stated.

"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked.

"Tukson's Book Trade." He answered.

"And you're Tukson?" She asked.

"That's right." He confirmed.

"So then I take it that you're the one that came up with the catchphrase?" She asked again.

"Yes." He confirmed once more.

"And, what was it again?" She questioned.

"'Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun'." He stated.

"Except the Third Crusade." Emerald countered.

"It's just a catchphrase." He said.

"It's false advertising!" Mercury said, annoyed.

"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson." Emerald said threateningly as Mercury activated a switch near the entrance causing a front window to darken.) "I hear that you're planning on leaving. Moving all the way to Vacuo." She said as Mercury activated another switch and the window in the front door darkened. "Your brothers in the White Fang won't be happy to hear that" She warned as Mercury activated the third and final switch, darkening the last window as he smiled creepily at Tukson. "And neither are we... You know who we are, don't you?" She asked.

"Yes." He confirmed.

"And you know why we're here?" She asked again.

"Yes." He confirmed once more.

"So... are you going to fight back?" She asked a final time.

And for the final time, Tukson answered. "Yes!" He confirmed, producing claws from his fingers. "Yaargh!" He snarled, leaping atop his counter in a threatening manner. Mercury and Emerald backed up slightly and he leapt at Emerald and slashed at her, but she dodged. He looks forward in surprise at Mercury as he raised one leg for a kick with his shotgun-greaves.

Mercury and Emerald exited "Tukson's Book Trade". Emerald stretched her arms overhead while Mercury was carrying a comic. "What's with that?" She asked.

"I like the pictures." He answered with a shrug.

* * *

A series of sketches and notes marked the next scene. These include the White Fang insignia, a possible picture of Adam Taurus, and Adam's rose. In the Beacon Academy cafeteria, Teams RWBY and SCRN were sitting together as Blake looked over some notes. Yang then slid up next to her partner.

"Whatcha doing?" She asked.

"Nothing." Blake answered, closing her book. "Just going over notes from last semester." She explained.

Yang caught a grape in her mouth. "Lame." She said.

Nora giggled as she continued to toss grapes at yang with her spoon. Yang caught the fruit with ease, giving Nora the thumbs up. "And this is why I'm the smart sister." Bayonetta said.

Yang gave a playful glare to her younger twin. "Yeah, but I'm the one that kicks the most butt!" She said, doing a little shadowboxing.

Ruby suddenly arrived, giving an enormous heave as she slammed a binder onto the table, catching everyone off guard. On the cover of the binder was written "Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee". This had been hastily crossed out with a red marker pen, and with the same pen, a new title, "Best Day Ever Activities", had been written underneath.

Ruby cleared her throat, before gesturing to everyone at the table. "Sisters... friends... Weiss." She started.

"Hey!" Weiss pouted off-screen.

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream." Ruby went on.

"This ought to be good." Yang said, catching another berry in her mouth.

"Ruby, a score is 20 years. None of us, especially you, the youngest one her, have been alive for a single score, let alone 4." Ryu corrected.

"You take the fun out of everything." Kratos said.

"No, I just try to stop people from being stupid." Ryu countered with a smirk as Kratos growled.

"A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had with our friends... ever!" She exclaimed.

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked.

Ruby made "peace" signs with both hands. "I am not a crook." She gave an ambiguous answer.

"I'm sure Goodwitch would disagree." Dante said. He wouldn't actually rat Ruby out, but he was slightly annoyed, both because it was his sister's binder Ruby took and because he'd helped her with several of the activities in said binder, which Ruby probably scraped.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" Ruby said excitedly as she pointed her finger at Blake.

"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" Yang said jokingly as everyone around her sighed and facepalmed. "Eh? Guys? Am I right?" She asked, until an apple was tossed at yang and hit her in the face.

"Boooooooooooooooo!" Nora heckled off-screen as Yang glared at her.

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today." Ruby explained.

"Aww, how sweet. I'm always willing to spend time with my baby sister." Bayonetta said.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss said.

"My vote's on scared." Dante said.

Yang, still glaring, picked up an apple and tossed it across the room. Off-screen, an unfamiliar voice shouted "Hey!" and Nora could be heard giggling.

"I don't know. I think I might sit this one out." Blake said.

"You spend too much time inside as it is." Kratos told her.

"Sit out or not, I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team!" Weiss said, standing up to somehow emphasize her point.

"I got it!" Nora shouted off-screen as Bayonetta and Yang waved their hands for her to stop, but to no avail.

"I for one think that..." Weiss started again, but was interrupted by a pie landing on her face.

Nora was shown to be the one who threw the pie, she sat down and pointed at Ren who has his head in his palm. Pyrrha's hand is over her mouth and Jaune simply sits staring wide-eyed while covering his ear with his palm. Ryu was shocked at this as well, looking first to Weiss, then at his furious leader, before looking back to his girlfriend. "Nora, what have you done?" He asked, knowing all hell was about to break loose.

* * *

Outside the cafeteria, Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias were walking together as Sun related the events which took place during "Black and White".

"Man, that's harsh." Neptune said.

"I know, we were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome." Sun exclaimed.

"Nice!" Neptune complimented

"Right? And the best part is, she's a Faunus. But that's a secret, okay?" Sun questioned.

"Got it." Neptune confirmed.

Sun leaned in close in order to stress the importance of this secret. "And not a, 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back' secret, I'm talking SECRET secret." He said pressingly.

"Whoa, chill out, man, okay? I got it." Neptune assured. "I got it!" He said again almost in a whisper

"You better." Sun warned. The camera angle now showed the windows into the cafeteria where food splattered into the panes as students ran around. At one point, Jaune was the one splattered into the window. "I just don't want to screw this up, you know? The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys." Sun corrected himself.

"None taken." Neptune assured.

"They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?"" The monkey-tailed boy asked.

"Dude." The blue-haired teen said simply, the camera panning up from Neptune's feet to his face. Neptune's teeth gleamed as he smiled.

"Good point." Sun agreed. Sun and Neptune entered the cafeteria where students were heard screaming.

"Food fight!" One student screamed off-screen. Many students were shown stampeding out the door past Sun and Neptune, the latter of whom was looking quite worried.

"Ahahahaha!" Nora laughed evilly as Team JNPR were shown to be standing atop a tower of tables stacked in a ramshackle manner, Ryu and Kratos standing atop the tower with them. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora said triumphantly in sing-song.

Ruby stomped her foot on a table and pointed at Team JNPR. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be DELICIOUS!" She screamed her war cry, crushing a milk carton in her hand.

Team RWBY, along with Dante and Bayonetta were by her side in an instant, raising their fists simultaneously. "Yeah!" They cheered.

"Off with their heads!" Nora shouted as the two factions rushed towards each other. (Sorry, guys, but I couldn't think of how to change the food fight. I'll make it up to you, though, I promise.)

One epic food fight later...

Team JNPR slid off the walls after being drenched by various sodas, Kratos laid tied up in a couple of long sausage links, Ryu was all but buried under a large pile of soda cans with Team RWBY equally scattered, Weiss unconscious against on the floor, Blake laying defeated on a large mound of different foods, Yang had been launched into the air by Nora and had yet to come back down, Bayonetta was tacked to the wall with several scallion leaks (what Ren was using) Dante was fighting to stay conscious from where he was knocked into a pie cart. Only Ruby stood proudly, having one her faction victory with her semblance and A LOT of soda cans.

"I love these guys." Sun said fondly.

The camera panned right to show that Neptune was drenched with soda and was not pleased. The doors behind them opened and Glynda entered the room growling. She proceeded to use telekinesis to re-organize the room.

"Children, please. Do not play with your food!" She said sternly, adjusting her glasses.

Nora burped loudly as Teams JNPR, SCRN and RWBY tried and failed to compose themselves. A screaming Yang then crashed from the ceiling into one of the tables. Glynda grumbled, but Ozpin approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let it go." He said.

Glynda sighed at this. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world." She said.

"And they will be, but right now they're still children." He said as Team RWBY was shown laughing together. "So why not let them play the part?" He said, walking away from Glynda. "After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever." He said.

* * *

In an old warehouse, the White Fang were moving crates as Emerald and Mercury entered. "Oh, look! She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce!" Roman said, approaching the two from behind and wrapping his arms around them in a group hug.

Emerald shivered in disgust at this. "Spare us the thought of you procreating." She said as they pulled away from Roman.

"That was a joke. And this... just might tell me where you two have been all day." Roman surmised, producing a piece of paper.

"What!? Agh..." Emerald said, checking and finding the address for Tukson's Book store was missing.

"I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something." He said, before holding up the piece of paper. "Why do you have this address?" He asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald said darkly.

"Yeah, I would. Now where have you been all day?" He demanded.

"Cleaning up your problems. One of them, at least." Mercury threw in.

"I had that under control." Roman said.

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise." Emerald countered.

"Listen, you little punk. If it were up to me, then I would take you and your little street rat friend here and..." He started, before...

"Do what, Roman?" Cinder's voice interrupted. Cinder then appeared on a platform above them, along with Medusa and Dio. They stepped onto an automated lift, riding it down to their level.

Roman laughed nervously as his superiors approached. "I'd, uh... not kill them?" He asked.

"Cinder!" Emerald said excitedly.

"Excellent answer. You seem to forget where you stand in our endeavors, Roman. They still are still vital to the plan and while your skills and resources are valuable, you can always be replaced." Dio said.

"I thought I made it clear that you would eliminate the would-be runaway." Cinder said to Roman.

"I was going to..." Roman started.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo! Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat." Emerald explained.

"I think he was some sort of cat, actually." Mercury corrected.

"What? Like a puma?" She asked.

"Yeah, there ya go." He confirmed.

"Quiet. Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?" She asked.

"You made a mess of the shop and left several footprints on the target, which would easily be linked back to you, a fighter who relies on kicks. I had to have my snake eat him to get rid of the evidence." Medusa warned them.

As the bitches- I mean witches spoke, Roman pointed a finger at the pair while laughing in agreement.

"I just thought..." Emerald started.

"Don't think... Obey." Cinder stopped her.

"We've come too far and put too much time and effort into our plans. We cannot risk them now." Medusa added.

Roman used his fingers to mime having a slit throat.

"Yes ma'am. It won't happen again." Emerald apologized.

"And you. Why wasn't this job done sooner?" Cinder asked, turning to Roman.

"Hey, blame the vampire over there! He said he was gonna make a meal out of the guy." Roman said.

"Sadly, I missed my window of opportunity, at which point we agreed you were to deal with him." Dio corrected.

"So, why didn't you?" Cinder asked.

As he answered, Roman pointed to his right, then to his left, then behind him at the massive amounts of Dust he's... appropriated. "Uh..? Eh..? Eh..? EHHHHH! Sorry if I've been busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom!" He said in annoyance.

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask." Mercury said, Emerald laughing at the remark.

"Look around, kid. I've got this town running scared! Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty on an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with! Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!" Roman said in annoyance, emphasizing the last word by clenching his fist.

Cinder approached Roman. "Oh, Roman. Have a little faith." She said, placing her hand on his face. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it." She said, almost hypnotically. Roman seemed entranced, but then looked away with a grunt. "Besides, we're done with Dust." She said as she began to walk away.

"O-okay, then what now?" He asked.

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight." She said.

"Coordinates?" He asked.

"We're proceeding to phase two." She said, turning back to look at him.

Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and the two revived villains began to walk away. Roman attempted to light a cigar, but realized Emerald had stolen his lighter. She turned back to face him and stuck her tongue out defiantly.

"So, what am I to do in the mean time? All work and no play makes I, Dio, a dull boy." Dio said.

"It may be a SMALL risk to security, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you managed to pick off a student or two from Beacon." Cinder said.

"And I have the perfect one to start with. Remember the girl I told you about when Roman and I shook down that Dust Shop in Vale. Her powers are similar to yours, so I'm sure you'll have fun with her." Medusa said, showing him an image of Bayonetta.


	14. Getting Back in Action!

The camera zoomed in on Beacon, passing a large and unnerving ship as it descended upon a landing pad. Two Bullheads flew by as the camera slowly lowered to show ant-like swarms of people on the paths around Beacon. The camera shifted to the top of a tower veiled behind clouds. Ozpin and Glynda could be seen through the window into Ozpin's office.

"Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels." Glynda said, annoyed.

"Well, running an academy and a military makes him a busy man." Ozpin reasoned. The camera switched to an over-the-shoulder from Ozpin's perspective as three more Bullheads flew in. "But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore." He admitted. A chirping beep sounded repeatedly. Ozpin turned to see a hollow-message "Access Requested" on his desk. "Come in." He permitted.

The camera switched to a low perspective beyond Ozpin's desk and facing the doors as they slid open to reveal Ironwood as Ozpin approached to greet him. "Ozpin!" Ironwood said cordially.

Ozpin stood at attention. "Hello, General." Ozpin said fondly.

"Please, drop the formalities." Ironwood said as both approached and shook hands as Glynda also approached. "It's been too long. And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met." He said.

"Oh, James!" Glynda said, giving a personable wave and then dropping all pleasantries. "I'll be outside." She said, walking away.

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit." He said.

Ozpin turned to his desk. As he spoke, the camera shifted and Glynda could be seen from behind Ozpin and Ironwood as she exited the room. "So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas?" He asked, picking up a mug and a kettle, pouring as he spoke. "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students, for the Vytal Festival." He said, turning and offering the cup to Ironwood.

The camera shifted to a close-up showing the mug changing hands. A clink was heard. "Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year." Ironwood said as he produced a canteen from his inside coat pocket and poured its contents into his mug. "Besides, with you hosting, I thought that this might be a good opportunity for us to catch up." He explained as Ozpin walked around to his desk, kettle and a new mug in hand.

Ozpin sat and poured himself some coffee. "I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends, however, a small fleet outside my window has me concerned." He explained.

"Well, concerned is what brought them here." Ironwood said.

"I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult." Ozpin started.

"Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men." Ironwood said.

Ozpin took a drink and set down his mug. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression." He reasoned. Off-screen, Ironwood could be heard setting his mug down.

"But if what Qrow said is true..." Ironwood started.

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully." Ozpin countered, emphasizing this as he held up an index finger. "It's the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest that you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent." He explained.

"I'm just being cautious." Ironwood admitted.

"As am I. Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can." Ozpin countered.

"Believe me, I am." Ironwood said, turning and walking away. He stopped near the door and looked back at Ozpin. "But ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?" He asked, before he continued on his way to the exit.

"I hope they never have to." He explained.

* * *

In the Beacon Academy library, Team RWBY was shown playing Remnant: The Game. The camera panned from Weiss to Yang, then to Blake, who was obviously distracted, before finally landing on Ruby, who had been contemplating her next move. Teams JNPR and SCRN, with the absence of Bayonetta, was shown as Yang and Ruby bantered on about the game. Ren and Pyrrha were studying, and Nora was asleep, resting her head on Ryu's chest as he sat to her right, holding her with his left arm so she wouldn't slip as he read a book of poems with the others, Dante was reading comics and Kratos was reading a book of combat strategies.

"Hmmmmm... All right... All right!" Ruby announced, Pointing at Yang. "Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!

Yang thrusted her elbow down as she balled her fist. "Bring it on!" She accepted the challenge.

"I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet!" She declared, slapping her card down on the table. Yang feigned a look of shock. "Looks like I get to fly right over your Ursai and attack your walls directly!" She exclaimed, making noises like airplanes flying and bombing as she made a bird with her hands.

Yang feigned indignance as she pointed at Ruby. "You fiend!" She exclaimed.

Ruby was now ducked at one end of the table. The camera zoomed across the table to show the board and its player pieces in detail. "And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time is only one turn." She explained with an evil smirk as she peaked her head up.

However, she gave a look of surprise as, off-screen, Yang could be heard laughing arrogantly as she raised a card. "Pretty sneaky, sis, but you just activated my trap card!" Yang announced as she showed the card to the camera. Ruby was visibly disturbed. "Giant Nevermore!" She declared, slamming the card down on the table. "If I roll a seven or higher, fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!" She announced, a scene of a Nevermore flying over a field of swords impaled in the ground played over the conversation.

Ruby pointed back at Yang, however. "But, if you roll a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces!" She explained, the Nevermore turning back toward Yang.

"It's a 50/50 chance. More of a coin flip than a dice roll." Kratos said, leaning over in interest at the sudden gambit.

"Yeah, but that girl and her sister know how to roll the dice in their favor, trust me." Dante grumbled, having lost more than his fair share of dice games to the blonde bombshell and Bayonetta. He can afford it in this world, but his gambling skill certainly hadn't improved from his previous life.

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take!" Yang said determinedly as the two glare at each other.

Yang was heard shouting triumphantly off-screen as we turned our focus back to teams JNPR and SRN. "Nooooo! My fearless soldiers!" Ruby cried.

"Eh, most of them were probably androids." Yang said.

"Nah, just outright robots." Dante called, looking back over his shoulder at them.

"Goodbye my friends, you will be avenged." Ruby said weakly.

"Not until I draw my rewards! Which are double this round thanks to the Mistral Trade Route!" Yang said.

"Obtaining those are a huge advantage." Kratos said, impressed.

"Bah!" Ruby snapped.

Nora snored and talked in her sleep. "Oh. Have pancakes." She said tiredly.

Ryu chuckled at this, patting her head a bit. "You can have all the pancakes you want when you wake up, Nora." He said.

She smiled in her sleep at this. "Oh, Ryu... You're the best person I've ever met." She said happily.

Pyrrha cleared her throat and then confiscated a comic book Jaune is reading, trading it for a textbook. "Oh, come on." Jaune whined.

"Be thankful I don't have my weapons on me. That would've earned you a hit upside the head with the flat of my sword." Kratos warned him, making him gulp nervously.

"Oh, and what's this? The Smugglers of Wind Path?" Yang continued to boast and taunt.

"Bah! Bah, I say!" Ruby snapped again.

As Pyrrha read Jaune's comic, a Nevermore player piece was tossed over Jaune's shoulder. Another piece bounced off of his head. "Poetic justice." Kratos said.

"I'm surprised you know what that is." Ryu said, looking up from his poems.

"What? Just because I'm a jock doesn't mean I'm an idiot." Kratos said.

"I say, it looks like I'm taking two cards in my hand!" Yang boasted once more.

"Have you no heart?" Ruby whined collapsed on the table, crying. "Nooo!" She cried. "I want Bayonetta..." She whined as when they were younger, Bayonetta always lost to Ruby on purpose and always consoled Ruby whenever she lost to Yang.

Yang groaned at this. "She never sticks around when we play these games! She took off with her semblance the instant I suggested it! She's probably on some boring evening walk she always takes. I GUARANTEE nothing interesting is gonna happen." She grumbled.

* * *

Bayonetta walked the streets of Vale, not looking for anything in particular, just enjoying the evening air and wasting a few hours until Ruby and the others were done with that foolish game. Unbeknownst to her, however, a menacing figure leered at her from an alleyway, a second golden figure coming out of nowhere behind him.

* * *

Yang then looked to her palest teammate. "Well, Weiss, it's your turn." She said.

"I have... absolutely no idea what's going on." Weiss said unsurely.

Yang slid up beside her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Look, it's easy! You're playing as Vacuo which means that all Vacuo-based cards come with a bonus." She explained.

"That sounds dumb." Weiss said, still confused.

Yang started looking through Weiss' cards. "See, you've got Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge... Oh, oh!" She said excitedly, pulling up a card to show Weiss. "Resourceful Raider! See, now you can take Ruby's discarded Air Fleet—" She started.

"Nooo!" Ruby whined more.

"—and put it in your hand!" She finished.

"Okay." Weiss said, starting to understand.

"And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance against Natural-based hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom!" Yang explained, pointing a finger at Weiss. "Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war." She warned as she pulled away and returned to her seat.

"And that means..." Weiss asked again.

"You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Ruby cried in despair.

Weiss stood and a thunder clap accompanied Weiss' overjoyed psychotic laughter. "Y-yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms!" She said maniacally, Dante looking at his sister in horror along with Kratos.

"What... The fuck... Is wrong with your sister?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know anymore. I don't think that's my sister." Dante said in horror, making a mental note to keep Weiss from any position of significant power.

"Trap card..." Yang bluntly declared, her arm appearing holding the card.

"Huh?" Weiss asked, confused.

Yang shuffled the pieces on the board, Weiss' pieces disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Your armies have been destroyed." She said simply.

"Thank god..." Dante and Kratos said together with a sigh of relief.

Weiss slumped in her chair, tearing up. "I hate this game of emotions we play." She whined

Ruby hopped into Weiss' lap. "Stay strong, Weiss! We'll make it through this together!" She said tearfully.

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" Weiss whined, although hugged Ruby closely.

Yang Put her arms up behind her head. "Alright Blake, you're up!" She said.

Blake snapped back to reality "Oh, um, sorry, what am I doing?" She asked.

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the Kingdoms of Remnant!" Weiss explained.

"Right." Blake said.

Jaune approached the table. "Hey! Can I play?" He asked.

"Sorry Jaune, we've already got 4 people." Ruby apologized.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt that you possess." Weiss said harshly.

"You didn't even know what you were doing until Yang told you." Dante said.

"Yeah, you attacked your own naval fleet 2 turns ago." Yang agreed, to which Weiss made an annoyed sound.

"Bring it on, Ice Queen! I'll have you know that I have been told that I am a natural born leader!" Jaune declared

"Really?" Ryu asked, looking at Jaune, raising an eyebrow.

"By who? Your mother?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

"A-and Pyrrha!" He said nervously.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha said, waving.

"Don't encourage him yet. He's still got a long way to go." Kratos said.

Jaune begged with both hands folded together. "Come on, let me play your hand for a turn!" He pleaded.

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!" She said.

"Easily the most peaceful kingdom. If Jaune led them... My bet's on gone in a weak." Dante said.

"Okay, that's a bit harsh!" Jaune pouted, before turning back to Weiss. "Why not? You've trusted me with way more important stuff before. I mean, you told us all that Blake is secretly a Fa-" He started, everyone looking at him in shock.

Pyrrha darted over and slaps a hand over Jaune's mouth. "Fun-loving person, whom we all admire and respect." She said as Jaune laughed nervously.

Everyone looked nervously at Blake who looked obviously annoyed that her secret is out. "Right. That. Ladies, enjoy your battle." He said, bowing as Pyrrha walked away.

Dante looked back at Kratos after this. "So, you'll have Jaune do at least 50 push-ups for that?" He asked.

"500. With me sitting on his back." Kratos corrected, to which Jaune groaned as he overheard that.

"Good." Dante said.

Footsteps could be heard off-screen. "'Sup losers." Sun said as he walked up, holding his fingers in a "peace" sign.

"Hey Sun!" Ruby greeted cheerfully.

The camera shifted to show that Neptune was next to Sun. "Ruby, Yang, Blake... Ice Queen." Sun greeted

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!" Weiss demanded.

"You gotta admit, sis. If you stop and think, there ARE a couple good reasons." Dante told her.

"Traitor..." She pouted.

"I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend." Sun said, gesturing to Neptune.

"Uhh, aren't libraries for reading?" He asked.

"Thank you!" Ren called, throwing his arms up in the air, Ryu also nodding in approval.

"Pancakes!" Nora shouted as she popped her head up.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun told him.

"Too late." Dante chuckled.

"Hush, you!" Weiss snapped at Dante, surprising her twin.

Neptune shook a finger at Sun. "Geh, geh, geh, geh! 'Intellectual', okay? Thank you." He said, before waving at the girls. "I'm Neptune.

"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked.

"Haven." He answered as he approached Weiss. "And I don't believe I've caught your name, snow angel." He said.

"Um, I'm Weiss." She answered, a bit stunned.

"Are you kidding me!?" Jaune snapped jealously, as his attempts with the same line constantly failed.

"Pleasure to meet you." He said.

"I never took you as the board game playing type." Sun said to Blake.

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later." Blake said, shoving Sun aside and leaving the room.

"Women." Nora said, shrugging.

Ruby looked at her scroll, becoming slightly worried. "Man, it's getting late. Bayonetta should be back by now." She said worriedly.

"Don't sweat it. I'll go look for her. In the meantime, I think your teammate needs a little more help than Bayonetta does." He said, heading out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bayonetta was starting to head back to Beacon, before sensing something behind her, activating her semblance, turning around and flicking the knife only inches from her face up into the air, getting caught off-guard by the blond man running up behind it at a high speed, somehow ignoring the time-slowing properties of her semblance and throwing a spin kick that sent her flying back, but she recovered in her cat pose, glaring up at her attacker. "Interesting. You, too have some power over time. That would explain why Medusa had such a hard time with you. Sadly, that same trick is useless on me." Dio said.

"Who the hell are you?!" She demanded.

"My, my, you're quite fiery. I like that. My name is Dio and I'm afraid you had an altercation with some of my... associates at the docks not long ago. You made quite the mess, now I'm here to clean it up." He said.

"Very well, then I'll just have to make a mess of you!" She said, taking aim at him.

 **Background Music: "Time of Dying" by Three Days Grace (it's the only song I could think of that has time in it)**

Dio rushed in at her as if he was about to run through the wall of bullets she was unleashing towards him, but suddenly, a strange golden figure emerged from his body with its arms crossed defensively in front of its face, the bullets bouncing off of him, until they finally reached Bayonetta and the new figure slammed its fist into her stomach, knocking the air out of her and lifting her off her feet, leaving her open for Dio to hit her with a jumping round kick, sending her flying into a pile of crates, kicking up a bunch of dust. "Medusa must be losing her edge if you gave her a challenge." Dio said, walking towards her. Suddenly, bullets rang out from the dust, slower, but faster than the other bullets. The yellow figure tried to tank these bullets again, but these managed to break through his guard, at which point Bayonetta rushed in with Chernabog and slashed at him, forcing him to jump back.

"Why don't we test your edge?" Bayonetta said, lunging forward again and swinging down on Dio, but the figure emerged from him once again, stopping the blades with his forearms, but this time, the blades went in, leaving deep wounds on its arms, but not cutting through.

"Useless, useless, useless!" Dio announced, jumping forward and kicking Bayonetta again, knocking her back again.

She came to a stop and glared up at him. "Enough of this!" She snapped, activating her semblance and rushing in, switching back to her handguns. She rushed in and threw a powerful jab, but it was met with the figures fist. "What? That's not possible!" She said.

"You have the ability to slow time. That itself makes you quite powerful, almost invincible. Unless, of course, you meet someone with a similar ability." Dio said, starting to attack. Bayonetta now had to deal with punches from both Dio and the golden figure beside him. But however, while they only used their fists, she attacked with all 4 of her limbs, allowing her to contend with the two of them, nicking both of them with several bullets. She managed to knee cap him with one of the bullets, leaving him open for a hit to the face with a bullet just behind it, before he recovered and glared at her. "The World!" He shouted just before the barrel of the gun reached his forehead, at which point it came to a stop, along with Bayonetta's entire body.

Bayonetta was shocked at this. She couldn't move her body. It was as if she was frozen. But not only her, but everything else around her: a bag being blown down the street by the wind, a newspaper getting swept through the air, an alley cat that had come around the corner to investigate the noise, but tried to run away, now hanging in the air, all 4 paws off the ground as if it were a picture. It was almost like her semblance, but even when it was activate, she could see all these things still moving at a snail's pace, but not here. They were all frozen in time. _(It can't be... Could he have made time COMPLETELY stop?!)_ She asked in disbelief.

"I'll admit, I was surprised when I found out I was not the only one who could manipulate time. Although, seeing the vast differences in our abilities now, I'm disappointed. Reducing time to a mere crawl is nothing compared to stopping it altogether. You are a monkey against a lion! And now the lion shall finish it's prey!" Dio announced, preparing to attack.

Suddenly, however, Bayonetta felt herself able to move again and moved out of the way of his attack at the last possible second, throwing a round kick to Dio's face and launching him away. "Looks like the lion's bite isn't as bad as his bark." She smirked.

He growled at this. "How dare you! I'll finish you right now! The wor-!" He started, before Rebellion came from nowhere, taking off the golden figure's left forearm as it tried to stop the attack and leaving a massive gash in Dio's own left shoulder, causing him to scream in pain.

The sword flew back to Dante, who smirked. "You know, they're talking a big game, then there's not knowing when to shut up. And that can get you in some serious trouble." He said.

"Dante!" Bayonetta said.

"Hey, babe. We were getting worried about you. I thought picking fights with shady character's was your sister's deal." He said.

"The creep jumped me. He may be injured, but his semblance is powerful." Bayonetta warned.

"As you'll soon discover! The World!" Dio announced again.

"No!" Bayonetta shouted, both gunslinger's taking aim at the blonde, but it was too late.

Dio rushed at Dante once again, this time pulling out a number of knives he held in his right hand while The World readied its remaining fist, pummeling Dante while Dio slashed furiously. The two of them landed many hits and cuts on Dante, but fortunately, his massive aura held up. "Not bad." He said suddenly, stepping back out of range.

"WHAT?!" Dio demanded in shock.

"Schnee's can do a lot of things with our glyphs. Even time dilation. And I like to think I'm pretty advanced!" Dante said, rushing in and throwing an upward slash at Dio. The World appeared in front of him and blocked it, but took another deep slash that almost took his remaining arm off and nicked his chest quite badly.

 **End Music**

Time resumed and Dio jumped back several paces, holding his injuries while The World disappeared. "Dammit! The two of you may have one today, but I, Dio! Will not give up! I, Dio will return and have my revenge! And next time, you won't be so lucky!" He snapped, jumping onto the roof and disappearing.

Dante glared at him, but headed over to Bayonetta, who was panting heavily. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. He just got a few good hits in. Nothing to worry about." She said.

"We'll be sure of that when we get back to the academy." He said, helping to support her as they headed back to school.

* * *

The scene switched to Team RWBY's room. The camera panned from the night sky seen through the window over to Blake as she sat with her knees folded to her chest on her bed. Voices could be heard echoing in her head.

 _"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?"_ Her own voice echoed.

 _"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."_ Torchwick's voice hissed in her mind, followed by the sounds of battle including slashes, grunts, gunfire, and Torchwick's laughter.

 _"Well, this has certainly been an eventful evening."_ Ozpin said.

 _"Hmph."_ Blake simply huffed.

 _The scene shifted to show that Blake was sitting in an interviewing office as Ozpin entered. Blake quietly acknowledged his statement. "I'm sure that after a night of thwarting attempted robbery, you probably just want to go home and take a nap. But, I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk." He said, sitting down across from her._

 _"Of course." She agreed._

 _"Wonderful. As you know, in order to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few that did not. And you passed the exam with flying colors." He explained._

 _"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive." She explained._

 _"Well, you have most certainly survived, Blake. I admire your drive. And I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, Human..." He started, sipping his coffee. "Faunus..." He continued, Blake glaring at him. "Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?" He asked_

 _"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not." She explained._

 _"True, but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide." He reasoned._

 _"With all due respect, you need to start taking some larger strides. Until then, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am." She said._

 _"And what are you?" He questioned._

 _"I don't understand what you're asking." She said unsurely._

 _"How did you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?" He asked._

 _"I didn't. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time." She answered._

 _"You wouldn't have been the first. But what happened tonight was not an isolated incident. I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it is my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it. Blake, are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell me?" He asked._

 _"I'm sure." She confirmed._

 _"Very well. Thank you for your time, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin said, standing and heading to the door. He stopped and turned to Blake. "If you ever need to talk to me." He said, the camera showed Blake momentarily. "Please, don't hesitate to ask." He said, shutting the door behind him._

* * *

Team RWY was shown entering their dorm room.

"Ugh, we should have never let him play!" Yang grumbled.

"You're just mad cuz' the new guy beat you! See, if you had just attacked when I told you none of this would have happened." Ruby snickered.

As they entered, Blake approached the door to leave.

"Stop." Weiss said sternly, pointing at Blake. Blake's hand retracted from the door knob.

Unbeknownst to them, however, team SCRN was on the other side of the door, bringing Bayonetta to her sisters, but stopping as they head the conversation.

"Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody!" She said.

"Uh, have you met Blake?" Ruby asked.

"Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!" She announced. Suddenly, she jumped and flipped through the air as six copies of her emblem fly through the air. "So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?" She demanded, pointing her finger at Blake again. Weiss was shown to be balancing precariously on a chair's back feet as Ruby and Yang looked at her in awe. She quickly put the chair away and rather adorably shuffled over to stand near the girls.

"I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm." Blake admitted.

"You're still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked, approaching Blake.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!" Blake screamed.

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it." Yang explained.

"Well I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Blake snapped.

"Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think that you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!" Weiss started.

"Uh, who?" Ruby asked off-screen.

"But let me once again be the voice of reason. We're students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation!" Weiss reasoned.

"Well yeah, but..." Ruby started.

"We're not ready!" Weiss snapped.

"And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day." Blake countered, pointing toward the door. "They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!" Blake snapped.

"Well, then. Count us in." Bayonetta said, limping into the room after picking the lock, the rest of Team SCRN following her. (I know it's like a hotel key-card pad thing, but it's also Bayonetta, so that balances it out)

"Bayo!" Yang said, hurrying to her twin.

"Cereza..." Ruby said in shock, also hurrying to her sister's side. She only called Bayonetta by her actual name when it was serious or Ruby was royally pissed at her.

"What happened to you two?!" Weiss said in shock, noticing Dante was also not entirely unscathed.

"Had a little run-in with an associate of our friends at the docks." Dante explained.

"We couldn't help but overhear your little problem." Ryu said.

"And they're targeting us now, so it seems like it's our problem, too." Bayonetta said as her sisters sat her down on Weiss' bed.

"It's too risky. We don't want to get our friends-" Blake started.

"And family." Weiss added.

"Involved." Blake finished.

"I'd say we're already involved." Kratos said.

"The big guy's right. They came after us, it's only fair we go after them." Dante said.

"You already got hurt because of us. We don't want to put you in any more danger." Ruby said, hugging Bayonetta.

"I got hurt because I interfered at the docks. They would've come after me anyway. It's not your fault, Ruby. Even if it was, I'd take this and even worse for you." Bayonetta said, looking Ruby in the eyes, before smirking. "Besides, this is nothing compared to how Yang and I rough-housed as kids." She said, smirking at her older twin.

"That's true." Yang giggled.

"We're in this, whether you want us to be or not." Kratos said.

"And Ozpin or Glynda could always find out about this if you're not careful." Ryu taunted.

Blake sighed at this. "You've got us there." She said.

"Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale..." Ruby started, raising her hand and doing other random gestures, while looking manic, taking a deep breath at the end. "say aye." She said, holding out her hand.

"When do we start?" Kratos asked.

"Yes! I love it when you're feisty!" Yang cheered pumped her fist enthusiastically, pointing at Blake at the end.

"Ready whenever you are, dear sister." Bayonetta said.

"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Weiss said.

"Count me in." Dante said.

"Just another Wednesday for us." Ryu said.

"None of you said aye!" Ruby said dejectedly.

"Alright then, we're in this together!" Blake said with a smile.

"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby said, gesturing.

"Yeah!" Yang said, doing a "double-guns" at Ruby.

Ruby suddenly gasped as she freaked out. "I left my board game at the library!" She said, panicked.

"I told you you shouldn't have brought that dumb game to Beacon." Bayonetta said as the rest of team SCRN face-vaulted.

"We're doomed." Weiss said, placing her hand to her head.

Ruby quickly ran out of the room and down the hallway. "I'll be right back!" She called back, before the sound of collision was heard as Ruby seemed to slam into the camera and disappeared off-screen. "Oo-oof! Oh g-!" She grunted, looking up. "Sorry. Are you okay?" She asked.

The music score took on an eerie tone. "I'm fine." Emerald said as she offered her hand from off-screen. "Just watch where you're going." She said as Ruby was shown to be slouched on the ground as she took Emerald's hand. Mercury stood beside them.

"Oh, right, sorry." She apologized. "Um, I'm Ruby! Are you new?" She asked as Emerald helps her to her feet.

Emerald stepped aside to reveal Cinder as she approached. "Visiting from Haven, actually." She said as Emerald turned to look at her.

Ruby stared for a moment and Cinder stared back. "Ooh! You're here for the festival! But exchange students have their own dormitory." She explained.

"I guess we just got turned around." Mercury said.

"Hey, don't worry, it happens all the time." She said as Mercury and Emerald walked past her. "Uh, your building is just east of here."

"Thanks." Cinder said off-screen, before walking past Ruby, gesturing in acknowledgement. "Maybe we'll see you around." She said.

"Yeah, maybe!" Ruby called after her as the camera shifted to show the faces of the trio as they continued to walk away. Behind them, Ruby could be seen waving. "Oh, uh, and welcome to Beacon!" She called after them again as Cinder grinned evilly and her eyes glowed menacingly as the screen faded to black.


	15. Hitting the town

Weiss was patiently waiting out the minute left on her holographic clock displayed from her desk in the classroom of Professor Peter Port, whose dialogue was merely background nonsense as Jaune slid up next to Weiss.

"So, Weiss, y'know, uh, I-I was thinking after this, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" He asked, turning to the teacher for a second, then turning back around. "And, uh um, I-I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie, if you wanna make the trip to Vale. I hear it's awesome." He said.

"Spruce Willis, not bad." Kratos said.

"You just like him because he's bald, too." Dante said, earning a growl from his teammate.

Jaune paused for a moment, seeing his words had no effect. "Aaaand maybe after that, we could study together? I mean, you're smart and I'm, uh... Y'know." He said.

"Ooh, he's about to crash and burn." Bayonetta grimaced.

"A nose dive into an explosion." Ryu agreed.

Finally, the clock in front of Weiss gave a shrill beep as it changed from 3:59 to 4:00 and she dismissed it with a wave of her hand. The professor was temporarily unaware of the alarm. Port posed as a towering monster about to attack. "And then I— Oh." He said, straighteing his stance as the students started to leave. "Timed that one wrong, I guess. Well, the stunning conclusion to this story will have to wait. Until next time!" He boasted.

"Can it wait longer than that?" Dante grumbled, the rest of his team chuckling a bit.

Jaune watched Weiss as she packed up her scroll. "Weiss? Did you hear me?" He asked.

Weiss didn't even look at Jaune as she walked away. "No, no, no, yes." She answered his questions in order.

Upon hearing this, Jaune groaned and did a face-plant into his desk. As the rest of Team RWBY walked out of class behind him, Yang ruffled Jaune's hair without even looking. "One day." She said.

"Take these feelings, turn them into anger and use it in training." Kratos told him as he walked by.

* * *

We now see a montage of our heroes getting dressed in alternate costumes for disguises. A closeup of Ruby's hands as she straps the red laces of her shoes. Switch to a closeup of Weiss' hand gripping the handle of Myrtenaster strapped to her side. Switch to a closeup of Yang's Ember Celica over her left forearm as she slides the chamber. Switch to a closeup of Blake tightening the black ribbons around her arms. Switch to full view of Team RWBY's preparations, revealing their new outfits.

Team SCRN enters the room, also wearing disguises. Team RWBY was shocked at the level of preparation their friends and/or siblings did, barely being recognizable, while Team RWBY just changed clothes. Dante was now in a long, silver buttoned blue coat with three separated coattails, a navy blue ascot wrapped around his neck, which hangs over a black, sleeveless vest that reveals his well-toned arms and shoulders, tan, finger-less gloves, a brown, snakeskin belt with a silver buckle, dark green pants with a scale pattern running across its surface and tall, brown boots with two golden buckled straps at the top with his hair slicked back. Bayonetta wore a long white wig and a red skin-tight biker suit with angular shoulders and a vertical stripe design. Her Watch is now placed near her left shoulder, black accent stripes near the shoulder seams that follow inward, going down the length of her body, the black stripes also go down her arms, one on each, she now wears red thigh high boots and gloves, also sporting the stripe design. Kratos was now wearing a suit, his normal tattoo was somehow gone and, thanks to a mirror on the back wall, they saw he had a bar code fake-tattooed on the back of his head. Finally, Ryu was wearing a suit that made him look like a humanoid dragon (the dragon muscle suit).

"Wow, guys! Your outfits are awesome!" Ruby said, looking down. "Aww, but now we look lame, cuz' we're just wearing different clothes." Ruby groaned.

"Well, if we're getting in as much trouble as we're thinking, it pays to make sure we don't get recognized." Dante said.

"Don't worry, dear sister. You look fine just the way you are." Bayonetta assured her.

Blake approached her bunk as she tightened her wraps. "I thought that class would never end." She said.

"Port's semblance MUST be dragging out time so he can bore us with his story." Kratos said.

Ruby cheered up a bit, looking down from her position sitting on the hanging bed. "Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" She said, happily leaping off her mattress and onto the floor, arms raised excitedly. She almost landed on Weiss, who was on the bottom bunk.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously." Weiss said sarcastically.

"Hey, we've got a plan! That's... moderately serious." Yang said, shrugging, Ember Celica's chamber rotating on its own

"Right!" Ruby agreed, looking around at her friends and teammates. "Everyone remember their roles?" She asked.

Weiss stood up as the camera quickly shifted left to each member who states their objective. "You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." She explained.

"Dante, Bayonetta and I will scan the city for any crime activity and, if we come across any White Fang members, we'll tail them to try and find their base. Hopefully, we'll be able to recover everything they've stolen." Ryu answered.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake suggested.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard..." Yang explained.

"There's an information broker who knows just about everything about everyone in Vale. He should be able to tell us something useful." Kratos said. (I kinda ran out of ideas for this part. I promise it'll get better.)

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found." Ruby said, pumping her fist. "Let's do this!" She cheered.

"Yeah!" Sun cheered off-screen. The camera shifted right to a smiling Sun Wukong as he hung upside-down by his tail in their open window. The whole group was taken aback.

"Sun!" Blake said in surprise and alarm.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked.

"Ah, it's easy; I do it all the time." Sun explained.

"That's disturbing." Bayonetta said, her and Dante pulling out their pistols.

"You do what?!" Weiss demanded.

"I climb trees all the time!" Sun explained, without reacting to Weiss' scowl, he flipped into the dorm room.

"You BARELY saved your tail." Dante said.

"So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" He asked

Blake stepped forward at this. "We are going to investigate the situation... as a team... And another team with two of our members' siblings." She said.

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby said.

"Psh! That's dumb! We should always get friends involved! That's why I brought Neptune!" He said, gesturing out the window.

The teams leaned out the window on top of one another cartoon-style to see the aforementioned teammate of Sun's standing outside, cool as can be. "'Sup?" He asked.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways." He said.

"There is something wrong with these two." Ryu said.

The camera panned out to reveal that he was standing on a very thin ledge circling the building under the windows. "Seriously, though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now." Neptune asked nervously.

"We honestly shouldn't." Kratos said.

Inside the dorm room, the group was standing in a circle as Ruby laid down the new plan. "Alright, I'll go with Weiss; Sun, you can go with Blake." She started. As she pushed Neptune past Weiss, he slipped her a wink. Weiss looked mildly shocked but then came to her senses quickly, Dante glaring at the blue-haired boy. "And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?" She asked.

"Uh, can't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister." Neptune suggested as Ruby pushed him, stiff as a board, up next to yang. When she was done pushing him, he rocked back and fourth, looking nervous. Yang put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from rocking.

"But, then, who would go with Weiss?" Ruby asked.

Neptune slicked his hair back at this. "It'd be my pleasure.

"No!" Dante said.

"I'd rather stick with the plan we have now." Weiss said, stepping closer to Ruby.

Neptune put on a suave look and pointed at Weiss as the team leader cracks up. "Hahaha, nah!" Ruby said, Weiss sighing in relief and following Ruby out.

"Let's rock, baby!" Bayonetta said as the rest of the teams jumped into action.

* * *

The scene change to that of a monumental tower that loomed over the sparse trees growing around the crossroads below.

"Woooow! I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close!" Ruby said in awe.

"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss boasted.

"That was the first one, right?" Ruby asked.

"Correct." Weiss confirmed. The two of them were seen walking down the path towards the building. "Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War." She explained.

"Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!" Ruby acted high and mighty to mock Weiss, snorting into her hands at Weiss' frown.

"Don't be a pest! Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library!" Weiss huffed

"I know, but it's so coool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" She said excitedly, grabbing her scroll from a pocket on her clothes, but in her excitement, the device was launched from her hands, bouncing along the pavement until it landed at Penny's feet.

"Oh!" Penny said in surprise, picking up the scroll and extends towards the clumsy teen. "You dropped this." She said.

"Penny?!" Ruby asked in shock.

"Uuuh..." Penny said, similarly surprised.

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!" Ruby asked.

"S-Sorry. I think you're confused." Penny apologized. She suddenly hiccuped, throwing the Scroll into Ruby's hands. "Uh... I've got to go!" She says, turning quickly and walking away.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked, turning to Ruby.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Ruby said, walking in Penny's direction as she shouted back to her partner. "You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!" She called.

"Wait!" Weiss shouted, reaching toward Ruby, before seeing the futility of stopping her teammate. She lowered her hand and sighed angrily.

Ruby ran up to Penny as she descended the steps until she got in front of the non-eccentric redhead. "Penny! Where have you been? It's been weeks!" She tried again.

"There seems to be a... misunderstanding." Penny said awkwardly.

"What?!" Ruby asked in disbelief. Penny continued to walk away, but Ruby slid down the rail next to her. "Penny... Is everything okay?" She asked. Penny continued forward without reaction. Ruby grabbed her by the arm. "Penny, please stop!" She pleaded, at which point Penny finally stopped and listened. "Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night! Please... As a friend." She pleaded again.

Penny sighed, then glanced to her sides swiftly, she walked over to Ruby's side and leaned in close. "It isn't safe to talk here." She explained, looking around suspiciously, much to Ruby's confusion.

* * *

Weiss walked through the grand, glowing lobby of the tower with pride, avoiding the central terminal and heading straight for the elevator doors, which slid open automatically and closed when she was inside. The voice of the CCT AI was projected from a panel near the door. "Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?" The AI asked.

"I'd like to go to the communications room, please." Weiss asked.

"Absolutely. Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?" The AI asked. Weiss retrieved her scroll and placed it as directed. "Perfect! Thank you, Miss Schnee." The AI said gratefully.

Upon the elevator's ascent, Weiss' expressions shifted from pleasant to serious. Upon entering the room, four symbols were seen on a computer - twin axes and wreaths, three flying swords pointing down, a spear and shield inside a fragmented circle, and a precise winged shape. Weiss walked up to the front desk where a holographic secretary appears in the seat.

Beeps were heard before the projection spoke in a polite manner. "Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit center. How may I help you?" The AI asked.

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas." She answered.

"Absolutely." The AI confirmed with more beeping. "If you could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through." She said.

"Thank you!" Weiss said happily. Weiss smiled and nodded before walking over to her assigned cubicle-like computer, passing a few Beacon students in uniform - one of which was talking to her mother and asking how things are going back in Signal Academy. She sat at her own display, taking a deep, unhappy breath to prepare for the call ahead.

The face of a short-haired brunette appeared on the monitor with the Schnee snowflake rotating behind her. She did not realize who she was talking to until she looked up. "Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh! Miss Schnee! Good afternoon!" The operator said, shocked. "Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well." She said.

"No, thank you!" Weiss said quickly, but pleasantly. "I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." She explained as she produced her scroll, placing it into a slot on the keyboard, creating a series of noises as the Operator looked at the data from her side of the screen.

"I see. If you don't mind... what may I ask is this for?" The operator asked.

"School project." Weiss lied.

"Um... There are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am." The operator said nervously.

"Well, then, I'll be sure to treat them with care." Weiss said.

"Right... Very well." She confirmed, although still slightly nervous, more noises being heard behind her. "The data is being transferred to your scroll now." She confirmed.

"Wonderful! That will be all, then." Weiss said happily.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?" The operator asked.

Weiss lost her smile, but quickly replaced it. "Yes, I'm sure." She confirmed.

"Well, then... Have a nice day!" The Operator said, hanging up. The call was dropped, and so too was Weiss' happy act, seen in the screen's reflection.

* * *

Kratos looked around to see if anyone was watching, before entering the large apartment building. He had reached the apartment that the info broker, Izaya Orihara, lived in, entering it and heading towards the middle of the room where the broker sat behind a desk, talking to a girl in a black motorcycle suit and a black motorcycle helmet that appeared to have cute little cat ears on it. The girl was clearly agitated, however, slamming her fist on the desk and shoving her scroll right in the broker's face. "I'm sorry to say, I've heard no new information about your sister, transporter. Perhaps you should've kept a better eye on her, she wouldn't have run off with public enemy number one." He said smugly. The girl trembled in anger, before storming past Kratos. "My, my. As I live and breathe. One of the champions of Mistral. To what do I owe this honor?" He asked.

"What can you tell me about Torchwick and the White Fang?" Kratos asked.

"Ah, that's quite the popular subject these days, it'd seem. I'm not really a fan of that organization, so I don't tend to keep a following on them. However, I do know that they seem to have gone into a partnership with Roman Torchwick." He explained.

"I already know that." Kratos said.

"Well, then, why don't you tell me what you DON'T know about the organization and I can fill in the blanks." Izaya smirked.

Kratos growled a bit. "Don't play with me, Izaya. This is serious business. People's lives could be on the line here." Kratos said.

Izaya sighed at this. "Very well. I'm afraid I can't tell you where they are now, I've heard Torchwick is preparing to move his forces Southeast." Izaya explained.

"Thanks." Kratos said, placing some money down and leaving.

However, as he walked through the door, he saw the girl from before standing there. She looked down and quickly typed a message into her scroll, showing it to Kratos. _[I heard you're going after Torchwick and the White Fang?]_ It read.

"So what if I am?" Kratos asked cautiously, ready for a fight.

She quickly typed a new message into her scroll. _[Then, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to help me find my sister.]_ It said.

"Your sister?" Kratos asked...

* * *

Penny stood alone near a two-story building with patio furniture and she was looking around nervously when a hand grabbed her shoulder, causing her to jump. She turned to see Ruby grinning. She smiled in return. The scene moved to the two strolling down the street. "I wish I could help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men." Penny admitted.

"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped?" ruby asked worriedly.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that!" Penny quickly assured her.

"Then where did you go?" Ruby asked.

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but... You have to understand, my father loves me very much; he just worries a lot." She explained.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby confirmed. She grinned and Penny grinned back. "But why not let us know you were okay?" She asked.

"I... was asked not to talk to you. Or Team SCRN. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Anybody, really." She explained.

"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"No, it wasn't my father..." She started to answer.

Before she could continue, she and Ruby heard the sound of megaphones announcing something, turning around the corner to look at the platform in the center of a plaza where the holographic image of James Ironwood was seen before six AK-130 Androids, who are in turn standing in front of two large metal storage cases with the spear-and-shield emblem on their doors.

"The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" He asked, the clapping of the gathered audience caused the drones to take a jerky bow. "But... the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!" Ironwood announced, the doors to the cases rolled up, and six new, bulkier, shinier automatons stood at attention before knocking their obsolete predecessors down to the applause of the watchers. "Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary." He said as the robots flexed and posed as a demonstration. "These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch." He built up the suspense.

The last line drew Ruby's attention. "Ruby..?" Penny asked nervously.

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin! And the Atlesian Dragon!" Ironwood announced as his image was replaced with two holograms: one of a robotic white behemoth, featuring hinged piston legs, large guns for hands, and a rectangular head, standing at least twice as tall as the Knights below it. The second was a massive drone-like airship with an extended cockpit that looked quite similar to a dragon's head, a large horn-like cannon on each side of the head and the mouth of the dragon was also open, the hologram revealing it to have a powerful laser cannon in it. The top of the ship was also equipped with a number of missile launchers while the underside was lined with machine guns.

"Now, we couldn't have them here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits and air crafts will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!" Ironwood's voice explained.

"Whoa..." Ruby said breathlessly, hunched in awe.

"Ruby? Maybe we should go somewhere else." Penny said in concern. At the side of the stage, two armored soldiers saw Penny, pointing her out and calling in backup. Penny backed away and then broke into a dead run, which snapped Ruby out of her weapon-awe-induced stupor.

"Penny! Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby called after her. Ruby turned to look back at the soldiers chasing after her friend, and realizing Penny's situation, swiftly followed her in an attempt to catch up down the winding alley.

"Down here! She went this way!" The Atlas soldier shouted, gesturing to his partner.

Penny and Ruby ran across the street with the soldiers following them, though a honking car nearly ran one over. He managed to brace his hands against the hood, which somehow stopped the vehicle, and his partner runs along after the girls.

Ruby was still trying to catch up with Penny, but a high stack of crates on a flimsy support was easily cut down by Crescent Rose, causing a wooden avalanche of boxes to block the path. Seeing Penny right ahead of her, Ruby leapt into the air and landed on the alley wall, ricocheting off and grabbing Penny around the middle. "This way!" She shouted, grimacing before the two disappear in a flash of red and rose petals.

Ruby dashed away as fast as she can while carrying Penny, but the strain was too great, and they crashed to the ground a short while later, with Ruby falling all the way into the street. She got up slowly, and in her dazed state, she didn't notice the large truck coming up from behind her until the honking was too late of a warning. She stood up just as she was about to be hit, but from out of nowhere, Penny pushed Ruby out of the way and held her palms out.

In the split second where the two made contact, the ground beneath Penny cracked and crumbled into pieces, and the From Dust Till Dawn truck was lifted a little ways into the air by the girl's sheer strength. She put it down, and the Shopkeep stared in awe at the crumples in his hood, just like the Huntress who got saved.

"Penny..?" Ruby asked, eyes wide, terrified and uncertain.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked the shopkeep.

"Uh-huh..." The shopkeep mumbled, obviously scared. Penny backed away, looking at Ruby's frightened expression, then at the bystanders murmuring to each other in an attempt to understand what just happened. In her panic, she ran from the Atlas soldiers still chasing her down and bumped into Ruby, knocking the poor girl out of her stupor as her friend tried to get away again.

"Penny! Come back!" Ruby shouted as she started going after Penny as the people looked at the destruction Penny caused with her bare hands and the soldiers finding they lost their target.

"Um... Uh..." Penny said unsurely, coming to a stop once she got out of the alleyway, looking around for where to run next.

"Penny! Please! What is going on?! Why are you running? How did you do that?!" Ruby shouted, exasperated, coming up to Penny.

"I-I can't! Everything's fine!" Penny said nervously, but hiccuped with each lie. "I-I don't want to talk about it!" She said, hiccuping again.

"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" ruby offered.

"No! No, no! You wouldn't understand..." Penny said, retreating from her friend.

"Let me try! You can trust me!" Ruby pleaded.

Penny finally relented, coming up to Ruby's face desperately. "You're my friend, right? You promise you're my friend?!" She asked hopefully

"I promise." Ruby said softly.

Penny was silent for a second, then, looking down at her hands. "Ruby... I'm not a real girl." She said.

Penny showed Ruby the toll of stopping the truck that would have killed her: parts of her palm's skin have ripped away, revealing the gray metal underneath. Penny stared sadly at Ruby's face, now completely astounded by her friend's secret as all she can simply say before the screen goes black and the credits roll is...

"Oh." She said in shock.


	16. Mechanical Mayhem!

**Before we start, I would like to thank merendinoemiliano for helping me come up with the Team Attacks for Team SCRN. This chapter would've certainly taken a lot longer without your help, so thank you again.**

* * *

We pick up where we left off in the deserted alleyway with a graffiti-marked dumpster as Penny revealed her secret to Ruby. "Penny, I-I don't understand..." The smaller girl said.

"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura." Penny explained, turning her head to the side sadly. "I'm not real..." She said sadly.

Ruby took Penny's hands in her own. "Of course you are. You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?" She asked.

"I don't... um..." She said unsurely, before leaning in close to Ruby's face. "You're... taking this extraordinarily well." She said.

"You're not like those things we saw back there." Ruby said, tapping her chest. "You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!" She said reassuringly.

"Ooohh... oh Ruby!" Penny said happily, grabbing Ruby into a hug and shaking her back and forth. "You're the best friend anyone could have!" She said.

"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!" Ruby groaned, muffled a bit as she was held so close to Penny.

Penny finally released Ruby, fully back to her happy self. "Oh, he's very sweet! My father's the one that built me! I'm sure you would love him!" She explained.

"Wow." Ruby giggled. "He built you all by himself?" She asked.

"Well, almost! He had some help from Mr. Ironwood." Penny explained.

"The General?! Wait... Is that why those soldiers were after you?" Ruby asked in shock.

"They like to protect me, too!" Penny confirmed.

"They don't think you can protect yourself?" Ruby scoffed.

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet... One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament." Penny explained.

"Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace!" Ruby asked, confused.

"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said..." Penny said, equally confused.

"Check down here!" A soldier called off-screen.

"You have to hide!" Penny said, grabbing Ruby's shoulders, before lifting Ruby above her head effortlessly.

Ruby struggled and screamed as she is carried toward the dumpster. "Penny, wait! What are you doing? You don't have to go with them! I can help you!" She reasoned.

Penny didn't listen to this, however, throwing Ruby in the trash and lifting the lid so she could still talk. "It's okay, Ruby. They're not bad people; I just don't want to get you in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone else my secret. Okay?" She asked, staring gravely at Ruby.

"I promise." Ruby said, lowering her head into the garbage as the lid was put down, but she lifted it a little to peek at the scene outside.

"There she is!" One of the soldiers said off0-screen as they ran up to her.

"Sal-u-tations, officers!" Penny greeted, cheerfully as ever.

"Why were you running? And what happened to the other girl?" The other soldier demanded.

"What girl? I've been by myself all day!" Penny said happily, but then hiccuped loudly, then smiled.

"You shouldn't cause such a scene." One of the soldiers said.

"Are you okay?" The other asked.

"Just a scratch." Penny said, showing off her "injured" palms.

"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this." The first soldier said.

"Please, just come with us." The second one said.

"Yes, sir!" Penny complied. Penny and the soldiers were heard walking away as Ruby looked on in sadness... until a rat screeched from below her feet, causing the young Huntress to fall and close the lid on herself.

* * *

Elsewhere, Dante, Ryu and Bayonetta had found and a couple of White Fang members from the rooftops, watching them flee from a nearby dust shop with all of its merchandise. "Bastards... Time to cut the fangs out." Dante said, about to jump down after them, but Bayonetta grabbed his collar.

"Slow your roll there, Schnee. We need to follow them back to their base, remember? Then we beat them up." She explained.

He chuckled a bit at this. "You're right. Thanks, babe. Good to know I've got someone besides Weiss to keep me in line." He said.

"And growing up taking care of a wild sister like Ruby, I am VERY good at keeping someone in line." She said, pressing her body up against him, leaning in both teasingly and intimidatingly.

"Hey, lovebirds, focus. They're getting away." Ryu called to them from another rooftop.

"Oh, yes. Coming!" Bayonetta said, hurrying over, a bit embarrassed she almost forgot her mission because she was flirting.

"Right. On our way." Dante said, not embarrassed, but mentally slapping himself for the same reason, rejoining his team stalking the White Fang members to their base.

* * *

In the ruined parts of Vale, the sound of an engine got closer and closer until Bumblebee pulled into the street and stopped just short of the camera, showing Yang Xiao Long behind the handlebars in her matching helmet.

Yang took off the helmet, gesturing with her thumb to the music playing nearby. "Come on, my friend's right in here!" She told Neptune as she got off the bike to reveal him sitting right behind her, hair and goggles messed up with a petrified expression of terror on his face.

"Cool... He said, sounding dizzy as he shook his head, somehow perfectly fixing his appearance before he got off the cycle, looking around worriedly. "And where exactly is... here?" He asked.

The music from Junior's Club got louder once inside and showed Junior behind the bar adjusting his cuffs as his henchmen stocked the bottles, carried boxes, and otherwise stood around on the dance floor, until...

"Hurry, close the door - she's coming!" The first thug shouted as he and another henchman proceeded to roll the doors shut and kept them closed with their bodies.

"What are you two idiots doing?!" Junior demanded, walking out from the bar.

The henchmen shouted incoherently until an explosion knocked them to the ground and forced the doors open, allowing a familiar face to walk in through the smoke as "I Burn" started playing.

"Guess who's back!" Yang asked confidently and happily as she continued to smile and posed as eight guns were pointed in her face with an equal number of angry Henchmen behind them. Though this doesn't faze her, she stopped and glared at the recording studio where the track was messing up until the frightened bear-headed DJ took the needle off the record and retreated back under the table.

Neptune appeared behind Yang as the henchmen continued hoisting their guns. "Yeah, so could you define 'friend' for me?" He asked.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot." Junior ordered as he cut his way through the crowd of goons, straightening his tie. "Blondie, you're here! ...Why?" He asked.

"You still owe me a drink." She said teasingly as she grabbed Junior by the arm and dragged him to the bar through the hired guns.

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho, what a woman..." Neptune said in awe, breaking from his love-struck state, staring to see the twins Melanie and Miltia Malachite standing beside him. "'Sup?" He asked.

"Whatever." Melanie and Miltia harrumphed together as they walked away, noses in the air.

* * *

Meanwhile, Blake's fingers traced three scratch marks on a wall before peeking around its corner and seeing a pair of horned Faunus as they were ushered into a building by a bearded man. She turned to Sun next to her. "This is it." She said.

"You sure?" He asked as Blake glared at him and started moving towards the entrance while unfastening her bow. "Y'know, I'm just gonna take your word for it." He said defensively.

The two walked inside the building to a hallway filled with cases, seeing another man announcing "New recruits, keep to the right!" at the young pair as they followed.

"I don't get it." Sun said, holding out the half-mask in his hand. "If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?" He asked.

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." Blake explained.

"Grimm masks... That's kind of dark." Sun said.

"So was the guy who started it." She said, putting her mask on and walking on.

"Always sunshine and rainbows with you..." Sun grumbled as he followed her lead.

The new recruits to the White Fang were moving in a line to the side of the stage, a mere few dozen compared to the hundreds of white-vested, black-hooded soldiers to their left and up above in the balconies. Blake and Sun looked around themselves when they stopped, and a fully-masked man with tattoos standing started speaking before the large sheet emblazoned with the bloody wolf and claw marks.

"Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for for so long!" The Lieutenant spoke.

The dark pants and brown shoes stepped forward before the orange tip of the Melodic Cudgel taps on the stage. The camera pans up to reveal none other than Roman, smiling confidently even as the crowd starts protesting.

"Thank you, thank you!" He said, waving mockingly as the crowd roared in anger at him. "Please, hold your applause!" He said.

"What's a human doing here?!" A faunus girl with deer antlers demanded, pointing at Roman from her place right in front of Blake and Sun.

"I'm glad you asked, 'Deerie'!" He taunted as he addressed her. "Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst." He said, saluting as an example. "Case in point. So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!" He said.

"So, is he going somewhere with this?" Sun asked, leaning over to Blake.

"But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" He explained as the crowd changed their tune and started agreeing with him. "Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life!" He accused, letting the crowd cheer as the two heroes shared a look. "And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room." He said.

With a snap of the fingers, the curtain fell, and the whole mass of Faunus applauded at the sight of the Atlesian Paladin-290 behind it, the mark of the White Fang painted on its shoulder. "Whoa, that's a big robot..." Sun said in shock.

"How did he get that?" Blake demanded.

"As some of you may have heard, this right here..." Roman began, tapping the giant mech. "...is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my 'employer', we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, 'hit the shelves'." He explained. "Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you." He boasted. "Any questions?" He asked, the White Fang's roaring applause telling him the answer.

"We should get out of here." Blake said to Sun.

"Will all new recruits, please come forward!" The White Fang Lieutenant ordered.

"Welp!" Sun said as the line surged forward with the two having to follow.

* * *

Back at the Club, Junior put down his glass as he sat behind the bar separating him from his interrogator. "I don't know!" He snapped.

"How can you not know?" Yang demanded.

"I haven't talked to him! I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here." He said, leaning over to point in Yang's face. "He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. Back." He explained.

"So where did they go?" Neptune asked, rushing to Yang's side to raise a question of his own.

There was a long pause, before... "What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back!" He snapped, turning to Yang. "Who is this guy?" He asked.

Yang pushed Neptune out of the way with one hand. "Don't worry about him; worry about me!" She ordered, Neptune straightening and standing to attention. "if I don't find out what I want!" She snapped.

"I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them, which is something I can relate to!" He shouted this at his own men, who grumbled and walked away in response.

"Come on, Neptune." Yang sighed, turning from the bar and walking away.

"We get everything we need?" Neptune asked, following with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, we got everything we can. Hopefully the rest of the team is having better luck." Yang said.

* * *

Dante, Bayonetta and Ryu finally tracked the White Fang members back to their base. "Alright, then. Now we can finally bust these punks." Dante said, texting Kratos to join them, before glaring back down at the warehouse.

"Finally. I was getting tired from watching up in the nosebleed section." Bayonetta said.

"Still, remember they've got a lot of Dust in there, so let's not blow everything up like usual." Ryu said.

"Why, Ryu! I am shocked and appalled you think that's all we- no, you're right, that's what we do." Dante said as the 3 jumped down, taking out the two guys about to close the doors and bursting in, catching everyone's attention. "Operation Repo!" Dante called.

"That's the best you could come up with?" Ryu said

"Even Yang would have something better than that." Bayonetta said.

"What?! You gotta be kidding me! That was good!" Dante complained.

"Get them!" A White Fang member shouted, half of the warehouse rushing towards our heroes, turning to the ones in the back. "The rest of you, move the stuff!" He ordered, before rushing in.

"Come on!" Dante said, rushing in.

"How did he become the leader again?" Ryu asked, rushing in as well.

"I honestly can't remember, but he's the only one of you boys I'd take orders from." Bayonetta giggled, joining her teammates. Dante laid down the beatdown quick with Cerberus, his ice nunchaku, landing a few hits on several White Fang members before knocking them all away with a wide, powerful swing knocking them all away with a limb or two covered in ice. Bayonetta jumped forward, landing and spinning on her hands with her bazooka tonfas strapped to her feet, knocking away another good few soldiers and firing the tonfas at one more decently larger soldier, blasting him back. Ryu also had his tonfas, battering another dozen or so soldiers and sending them flying, before combining the weapons into a powerful machine gun and firing at even more soldiers in the upper levels of the warehouse, causing several of them to fall back, but more of them to fall over the railing and collapse down to the first floor, unconscious.

"You guys are about to learn why you NEVER steal from a Schnee!" Dante said, spinning his sword and stabbing it into a ground, creating a large glyph underneath him, white wolf-like creature with glowing blue eyes (a Shadow from DMC1) leapt out of the glyph in front of Dante, rising high into the air and changing into a giant knife in mid-air, crashing down on top of a small group of White Fang members.

"What the hell is that thing?!" One of them demanded.

"Who cares, just shoot it!" Another shouted, all of them laying down fire on its body, causing it to react in pain and melt to the floor with a glowing white and blue orb floating above the puddle. They were shocked for a moments, but continued shooting it the wolf reformed, grabbing the nearest member and lifting him above its head, before exploding, blasting away the member he was holding and launching away the others as well.

The three of them then looked up to see the rest of the White Fang finish loading up, preparing to leave. "Let's hurry, they've got most the stuff loaded up! They'll escape any minute!" Ryu said, running forward. But before they could reach the few dozen bullheads, a much larger ship powered up in front of them.

"Oh, man. I hope the others aren't in as much trouble as we are right now." Dante said, staring up at the Atlesian Dragon, piloted by Roman's partner in crime, Neopolitan.

* * *

The White Fang was still cheering loudly as the recruits were marched to the stage, with Blake and Sun having no choice but to follow along.

"What are we going to do?!" Sun whispered to Blake.

"I'm thinking..." She hissed quietly.

Sun watched Roman lean on the robot, smoking his cigar and laughing with the girl beside him before he zeroed in on the two, frowning.) "He sees us..." He said, trying to smile and wave.

Blake then noticed the junction box on the wall. "He can't see in the dark." She said. With that, she unsheathed Gambol Shroud, transformed it into a pistol, and shot at the box, making the lights go out for the whole building and turning the screen dark.

"Don't let them get away!" Roman ordered.

"Sun! The window!" Blake called out.

"Stop them!" Roman snapped, before the two student Huntsmen crashed through the window and started running as fast as they could, the mechanized sound of running power signaling the Altesian Paladin's activation, and it crashed through the wall of the building in pursuit of the runaways, who leapt off of a car and managed to get on the roofs. The Paladin followed beside them on the street as Blake and Sun ran, jumped and flipped from rooftop to rooftop.

"So you wouldn't happen to have... oh, I don't know... some form of backup?!" Sun shouted in fear amidst twirls in the air.

"On it!" She said, grabbing her scroll and put it to her ear as she continued to jump.

* * *

Weiss was seen leaving the Cross Continental Transmit tower's elevator when she grabbed her own scroll and listened to Blake's message.

"Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-" Blake called over the scroll, before being interrupted.

"HEEEELLLLP!" Sun screamed in the background.

Weiss rolled her eyes and starts running out the door, a little smile on her face as she does so.

* * *

Ruby was still beside the dumpster, which was now boarded up, possibly to keep the rat imprisoned, staring at her scroll as she received a call.

"Big robot! And it's big! Really big!" Sun shouted.

"Oh, I am not missing this!" Ruby said excitedly, running off to join the fight.

* * *

"Sorry, but we'll have to get back to you. We've got our own problem at the minute, thank you!" Dante said, dodging an energy beam from the Dragon's mouth, a small explosion rising from the spot he had just been standing on.

* * *

Yang was back on the motorcycle in her helmet and sunglasses with Neptune looking at the scroll in her hand over her shoulder.

"That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!" Sun explained.

"Where are you guys?" Weiss asked.

Right on cue, behind them, Blake and Sun could be seen running through the street with the Paladin hot on their heels before they all disappeared from view. "HURRYYYY!" Sun screamed in both person and on the scroll.

"I think that was them." Neptune said.

"Yeah, I got it." Yang said, putting the scroll away, she quickly circled her ride around - much to Neptune's alarm - and drove off to follow them.

* * *

Back with Dante and the others, they quickly moved towards the exit as the Dragon lifted up from where it was grounded and fired at them, slowly flying after them through the warehouse and firing at them. Ryu and Dante made it out first, but as Bayonetta was escaping, Neo noticed a few falln dust crystals in her path and fired at them, creating an explosion that knocked the former Umbra to the ground. "Bayonetta!" Dante and Ryu shouted in concern.

Neo fired the energy cannon at the downed girl, but at the last second, she split apart into a swarm of bats, avoiding the laser and reforming outside of the warehouse and turned into a panther, moving as fast as Ruby using her semblance to cross the road and leap onto the building across from it, but as she was still about 8 feet in the air, she turned into a crow, 4 red feathers of energy coming off of her and shooting at the emerging ship, each hitting and making a small explosion that shook the aircraft a bit, before she turned back into her human form and landed perfectly on her feet. "Oh, my... That was amazing..." She said in awe.

"What was that?!" Ryu asked in disbelief.

"I don't know..." Dante said, equally shocked, before smirking. "Plus side, my girlfriend's okay." He said, joining her on the rooftop.

"Dante. Always looking on the bright side. Even in the middle of a fight." Ryu said, remembering where he was, turning to face the ship as Neo recovered from her own shock, starting to fire at him, but he used a Ninpo to teleport next to his team.

Neo flew through the warehouse and high into the air, aiming and firing down at the heroes. "Find some cover!" Dante shouted, the three of them running across a few rooftops and then taking various places for cover on a large rooftop.

Fortunately, Kratos had had quickly reached their location, using his chains and swords to swing through the city until he reached his team, noticed them under fire from the Atlesian Dragon he'd seen an announcement for earlier. "Hang on, team!" He shouted, swinging towards the airship, creating his cestus and slamming into it the Dragon, Neo grunting as she and the ship were taking off-balance, struggling to level out as Kratos landed on the roof with his team.

"Nice timing!" Dante said.

"What'd I miss?" He asked.

"We found their hideout, but they cleared it out! Then we found this!" Dante said, pointing towards the Dragon.

Kratos looked towards the ship, then was shocked to see who the pilot was. "That's-!" He started.

* * *

 _We flash back to when Kratos was standing outside the info broker's office, talking to the girl with the cat-eared motorcycle helmet. "Your sister?" He asked, looking at a picture of the multi-colored girl displayed on the scroll held in front of him._

 _[My little sister Neo, yes. My name is Celty. We both grew up on the streets and tried to make a living for ourselves. I have a... MOSTLY legal job as an underground transporter, but Neo got involved with this crime boss, Torchwick.] She said, showing him the picture of the Crime Lord's mugshot._

 _Kratos got a chuckle from the picture, seeing Torchwick with several bruises and imagining he was the one who placed those on him, before looking up. "I'm aware of who he is." He answered._

 _[It's not that he treats her bad, he's good to her... but lately they've been getting into some serious stuff, WAY worse than their normal business. They're getting in some serious trouble and I just want to get her out of it.] She explained._

 _"I'll see what I can do." He said._

 _She jumped with joy at hearing this, even hugging the pale Huntsman-in-training. [Thank you! I'll give you my number! Let me know when you track her down and I'll be there in a flash! or... Whatever a dark version of a flash is...] She said at the end, Kratos raising an eyebrow._

* * *

"I know that pilot! I met her sister at the informant's place! We have to be careful not to seriously hurt her!" Kratos explained.

"Considering she's in a vehicle loaded with Dust and other explosives, that might be a bit hard." Ryu said.

"Then we'll have to either destroy the cockpit and get her out or damage the main the propulsion systems without damaging the main body or weapons to the point of blowing up the explosives!" Bayonetta explained.

"Alright, then! Perfect time for team attacks!" Dante said with a smirk. "Ryu! Hellish Dragon!" Dante announced, spinning Rebellion around and stabbing it into the ground, a yellow glyph appearing under him, several others about 4 feet in diameter appear in the sky.

"Right!" Ryu said, grabbing some fire dust and using his Ninpo, becoming a massive serpent dragon, flying through the yellow glyphs to gain electric powers before crashing into the battleship, again taking it off balance with the powerful explosion while the electric surge overloaded and short-circuited some of the functions on the aircraft.

Unfortunately, one of the things that were still functioning were the guns, which open fired on Dante and Bayonetta, but their two remaining teammates jumped in the way, Kratos shielding himself and Dante with the shield that accompanied his spear while Ryu protected himself and Bayonetta with Dabilahro. "We have to take out those guns or we'll get shredded!" Bayonetta said.

"Slice of Lilith!" Dante said, him and Bayonetta jumping out from behind cover, Dante throwing Rebellion around and catching it when it boomeranged back while Bayonetta drew Rakshasa, flinging energy waves from the swords as the two fought and struck in beautiful dancing motions while their weapons sliced apart the ship's guns, ending Bayonetta leaning back and Dante catching her with one hand (like in the waltz or some ballroom dance I don't know), confetti and smoking shooting from nowhere as a light from nowhere shined down on the couple, who then kissed.

"Oh, brother." Kratos said, facepalming.

"I don't know what to be more embarrassed about, their needlessly flashy moves or their making out in the middle of a fight." Ryu said, shaking his head.

Neo growled from within the machine and fired a barrage of missiles at the couple, who broke off the kiss and looked at them coming with barely any concern, more annoyed their make-out session was interrupted than anything. "Dark Dragon." Dante said simply, Bayonetta freezing time, which didn't effect Ryu because of his own time altering ninpo, allowing him to jump in front of the couple and shoot a Piercing Void at the crawling missiles, detonating them at a distance where they couldn't hurt the heroes as Bayonetta restarted time.

Neo was shocked her missiles had been destroyed, before a large scowl stretched across her face at her rapid loss of weapon options. She then shoved the control stick forward, sending the ship charging at them, forcing them to dodge as she all but took the roof off the building they were standing on. "Ooh, that's gonna take a dent from my wallet to fix." Dante said.

"If we don't slow or bring that thing down, half the buildings on this block will wind up without a roof!" Ryu said.

"You're right! Stygian Spartan!" Dante ordered, Kratos cupping his hands to make a foothold as Bayonetta ran towards him, jumping and placing a foot in his hands, allowing him to throw her high into the air above the Dragon, then throwing his spear after her. She transformed her whips into a bow, kicking down the spear and impressively firing 3 arrows at once to hit the turbines of the drone-shaped aircraft, creating decent explosions and causing the ship to sway violently out of control, now struggling to maintain altitude, doubtlessly unable to charge at them again.

"We're doing good, but we're not cracking that cockpit and getting her out of there like this." Ryu said, noting how their automatic weapons were having little to no effect on the windows of the cockpit Neo sat in, the small girl sticking her tongue out as she was safe from the bullets harmlessly bouncing off her windshield.

"Then hit her with something bigger! Draconic General!" Dante shouted.

Ryu nodded, transforming Dabilahro into the Howling Cannon and Kratos drawing the Blade of Remnant, swinging the massive claymore and shooting lightning balls that connected and powered up Ryu's cannonballs that slammed into the cockpit, sending a spiderweb of cracks through it. incredibly limiting Neo's visibility while the flashing red lights and danger alarms signaling severe damage drilled away at her other senses. Neo was now furious at this, her eyes changing color back and forth before she powered up and fired the main energy cannon at the heroes. "Ryu!" Bayonetta shouted.

"Got it!" He said, firing the Torn Sky Blast to hold back the beam, the two appearing to be at a stalemate. "I can't hold it back for long! Hurry and take out the head!" He grunted.

"Divine Hell!" Dante announced, much like with Bayonetta, getting a launch into the air from Kratos, before swinging down Cerberus for Kratos to grab onto, allowing Dante to fling him higher into the air, Kratos making his cestus and shooting one of the heads towards Dante, grabbing him and flinging him even higher into the air, before Dante tossed him the nunchaku and reeled him in once more, the two now about 20 feet in the air above the aircraft, powering large amounts of fire and lightning dust respectively into their gauntlets, Dante having been wearing his Ifrit gauntlets and greaves the whole time, before the two crashed down, fist first into the neck of the dragon-headed battleship, breaking it off with a powerful explosion, cancelling the beam and causing it to land on the roof in front of them.

Neo hopped out of the destroyed cockpit, staggering dizzily for a bit, before glaring at the heroes and pulling out her umbrella, preparing to fight, before she heard something that sounded like a horse's whinnying as a bike came from nowhere and slammed down in front of her, Celty getting off and angrily storming up to her. _[Neopolitan!]_ The scroll that was soon stuffed into the smaller girl's face read as the older girl stood in front of her, one hand on her hip, the other holding the scroll.

Neo jumped a bit, almost dropping her scroll, typing shakily as she prepared her message. _[Celty?!]_ The opposing scroll read as it was shown to the taller girl.

"Whoa, whoa, what?! Who's this?" Dante asked.

"The sister I mentioned before. I told her where we were when I was shielding us from the bullets. She's here to TRY and taker her sister home." Kratos explained.

 _[I've been looking all over for you! I told you from day one Torchwick was dangerous and now look what he has you doing! Stealing brand new military grade weaponry! That's a WAR CRIME! You could be executed for that!]_ Celty's scroll explained as the older girl gestured and moved as if she herself was talking and scolding the girl in front of her.

 _[Roman's in deep this time! He needs me! I'll help him through this no matter what!]_ Neo typed her rebuttal, sticking the scroll in her sister's face, pressing it right up to the helmet visor.

 _[Your obsession with that bowler hat bozo is going to get you KILLED!]_ Celty typed back, moving the scroll closer and further from the smaller girl's face, pointing at the capitalized word.

 _[I can take care of myself! I don't need you! Roman's the only one I need and I'll stick with him whether you like it or not!]_ Was the reply from Neo's scroll as the younger sister glared and stuck her tongue out at the older one.

Celty leaned back, a bit shocked, before leaning in close with her scroll in Neo's face once again, lowered just enough so she could see the glare most likely coming from under the helmet. _[Don't talk to me like that, young lady! I have half a mind to bend you over this bike and spank you in front of these kids that already beat your ass!]_ Celty threatened.

 _[You wouldn't...]_ Came the response with a threatening, but slightly nervous glare from the younger girl.

Back with our heroes, they all sweatdropped as they witnessed the two girls going back and forth, simply sticking their scrolls in each other's faces with varying degrees of intensity. "Uhh... Anyone know what's going on anymore?" Dante asked.

"I THINK they're both mutes. They must only be able to talk through their scrolls." Kratos guessed.

"Count every blessing you have, I suppose. Every single working function of your body is a miracle if even speech isn't guaranteed." Ryu said.

"Team RWBY's mission CANNOT be this crazy." Bayonetta said, before Neo suddenly got a text, quickly checking it and her eyes shooting open before jumping backwards and vanishing. "What the?!" She asked.

"What happened?!" Dante asked.

 _[Damn! She went after Torchwick! He's in some kind of trouble with a bunch of Huntresses.]_ Celty explained.

"That's probably Ruby and the others! We need to get there now!" Bayonetta said.

 _[I'll give you a hand, since you at least helped me find out my sister's alright.]_ Celty said, turning to her bike and snapping her fingers, the bike suddenly moving in a shifting ball of shadows until it became a Bullhead.

Team SCRN was shocked by this before saying the only thing they could. "That'll work." They all said at once.

* * *

Meanwhile, Blake and Sun somehow made it to the highways, jumping down into the busy street and continuing their escape by hopping on cars while the Paladin followed them by pushing vehicles out of the way. Sun paused to look at their pursuer's path of destruction and offered a quick "Whoa!" before leaping onto more cars, much to the anger of Roman inside the robot, his face surrounded by blue holographic screens.

Yang and Neptune were able to follow the mech suit on their ride, coming up next to it as it runs. "We've gotta slow it down!" Yang said.

"Got it!" Neptune said, reaching for his gun, but Roman noticed the pair on his sensors and crashed into a multitude of cars with the Paladin's strong bulk, sending them flying towards his chasers.

"Hold on!" Yang ordered.

"Wuh-oh!" Neptune screamed in shock.

Yang swerved, leaning her bike to the side in avoidance of flying debris while Neptune flailed in a panic. Back on two wheels again, Neptune unslung his weapon, aimed as sparks start flying, and fired several bolts of blue electricity at the Paladin, causing Roman to grimace from the force of the attacks. Switching strategies, Neptune flipped the gun and it grew a shaft and an energy blade at the end, then jumped from Yang's bike as the spear's head split in three and drove it into the top of the Paladin. Sun and Blake paused in their car-hopping to look back.

"Neptune, hang on!" Sun called.

Neptune was trying his best, but the mech kept bucking and threatened to make him fall. Closing his eyes, Sun smashed his palms together, and from the golden Aura around him, his Semblance created two glowing outlines that copy their creator, leaping off and going back over the tops of vehicles to collide into the Paladin's front. They explode into blinding light upon contact to let Sun leap forward with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang held high, but Roman finally turned enough to send Neptune flying off and knocking into his leader, sending both of them off the highway.

As Blake looked on from her spot, she heard a voice from her scroll. "Blake! I'm in position!" Weiss announced.

She was seen twirling over a highway and landing in the middle of the road, holding Myrtenaster at the approaching Roman. He smiled as his robot charged the girl, but Weiss spun and plunged her blade into the ground, summoning a circle of ice across the pavement that caused the Paladin to slip and crash, actually flying over the young Huntress and falling off the ramp, landing further down before Ruby, who already had her Crescent Rose out in scythe form.

The Paladin stood back up, and the rest of Team RWBY fell beside their leader to took up positions. Roman chuckled, moving the robot slowly towards the girls.

"Freezer Burn!" Ruby announced, her and Blake jumping back out of the way as Weiss performed her same ice-circle trick, but backed out of Yang's way when she jumped into the air and hit the epicenter with her Ember Celica, creating a wave of mist that surrounded Roman. Immediately, the Paladin activated its laser sensors to make up for the lost sight, but it barely saw the afterimage of Blake and narrowly missed the dashing Yang. A gun managed to fire at the area between Blake and Yang, but out from the blast came Ruby, who slashed the metal with her blade, causing it to falter.

"Checkmate!" Ruby ordered again. Blake and Weiss went in this time, each girl going for the feet until Weiss jumped up and stabbed a sensor before leaping off of a white glyph. Roman lifted the Paladin's foot to crush Blake, but Weiss summoned another glyph under her teammate to launch her backwards before the crushing blow could land. Roman growled and fired off the missiles, but Weiss and Blake flipped backwards as the explosions merely hit where they had been.

Finally, Weiss jumped up too high, and Roman fired a double energy blast at her. Myrtenaster absorbed the damage, but Weiss was thrown back, so she casted a beam of light from her weapon to the ground under Blake. She would've hit the ground, but Dante suddenly leapt from nowhere and caught her. "Dante!" She said, surprised.

"Helping your teammate instead of worrying about yourself. I'm impressed, sis. Selfless and risky. I like it." He said, setting her on her feet.

The beam Weiss fired formed a yellow clockwork circle that was absorbed into the Faunus girl and let her slice through each launched missile with ease in a flurry of super-fast slashes.

"Team! Unload!" Dante shouted, pulling out his sniper rifle the other members of Team SCRN firing down their explosive weapons: Bayonetta's bazookas, Ryu's howling cannon and Kratos' Blade of Remnant shooting lightning balls on the monstrous machine, staggering it heavily.

"Ladybug!" Ruby ordered, running into the fray. Ruby shot herself forward and cut at the robot's legs, then turned as Blake aimed herself at the giant's feet as well. They both dashed forward and attacked at the same time, circling each other around the Paladin with each strike until they both launched themselves into the air and came down together on the shoulder, cutting off the left arm entirely.

Yang didn't waste a second, jumping onto the Paladin's back and punching the top with fiery shotgun blasts. Roman was knocked around in the cabin, but seeing as he couldn't reach her with his remaining mechanical arm, he ran backwards through two columns and left her embedded in a third before backing away and turning towards her. Just as she was falling down, the remaining arm extended a closed fist, and when it punched her, she flew through the column and doesn't get up.

"Yang!" Blake and Dante shouted worriedly.

"Good game, Torchwick, but I'm afraid it's over now. You just screwed yourself over." Bayonetta said, knowing what happened when Yang took serious damage like that.

"Don't worry! With each hit she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back! That's what makes her special." Ruby explained to the two.

Yang slowly got back on her feet, hair burning a brilliant white as she clenched her fists. Sensing victory, Roman threw a punch, but Yang caught it in her own hand, despite the ground cracking beneath her and, eyes red with rage, smashed her knuckles into the second arm, obliterating it under her force.

Getting desperate with his armless robot, Roman immediately kicked Yang to the side, but as she passed her sisters and teammates... "Bumblebee!" Ruby announced. Blake threw her Gambol Shroud out for Yang to catch while flying, and the Faunus used the momentum to swing the glowing girl around for a final hit to the robot. Roman, however, stepped out of the way just in time to avoid complete destruction.

"We have to slow it down!" ruby shouted.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Weiss asked.

"I've got a few ideas." Dante said.

"Ice Flower!" Ruby announced again.

"Chill Out!" Dante called, tossing Cerberus to Bayonetta, she rushed forward on her Odette ice skates, skating and doing figure 8's between the robots legs, hitting them and freezing up the legs until they were entirely frozen, noticing Ruby and Weiss were ready and jumping away.

Twirling their weapons so they both pointed at Roman, Weiss created a series of glyphs in front of the scythe's sniper barrel, and a single shot through the circles created a dazzling spiral of energy that creates large icicles upon impact with the Paladin. Ruby continued to shoot as Weiss freezes the fire, and as the ice completely envelops the robot's body, Blake swung her partner around in a circle one more time, but with Roman unable to move, the Paladin was hit by the speed and power of Yang's fists, flying into the air before crashing down in a hundred pieces and a defeated criminal.

Roman got up, slightly dazed but unharmed as he inspected the damage while brushing himself off. "Just got this thing cleaned..." He grumbled.

He looked up just in time to see Yang, still burning with her absorbed power, fire a single shot at the defenseless thief, but he was saved at the last instant when Neo dropped in front of him and merely opened her pink umbrella, deflecting the blast entirely. "Oh, right, we forgot about her." Dante said, rubbing the back of his head as the rest of team SCRN joined up with him and Team RWBY. The new arrival hung the weapon over her shoulder as Roman addressed the victors.

"Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen..." He said in farewell.

"Hey!" Weiss snapped.

"Always a pleasure! Neo, if you would..." Roman said, looking to his partner in crime.

The pink-and-brown girl curtsied her enemies with a bow, but Yang will have none of it, charging forth with fists raised to strike the outlaws. "Yang, wait!" Kratos called.

But suddenly, their images broke as if made out of a mirror and the group turned just in time to see them escape in a Bullhead. The rest of team RWBY and SCRN ran up to Yang's side, who now cooled down with the end of the fight.

"So I guess he got a new henchman..." Yang hugged.

"She's been with him for a while. The girl in black was her sister. She asked me to help track her down." Kratos explained.

"Either way, I guess she really made our plans... fall apart!" Weiss joked, smiling and looking at Yang.

"Not bad, sis. Finally making jokes with the gang." Dante said proudly, patting her on the back.

"No. Just... no." Yang simply stated while Weiss and Dante smiled, Ruby giggled, and Blake and SCRN started walking away.

"What- But, you do it!" Weiss pouted, getting mad.

"There's a time and a place for jokes." Yang said.

"You joke every single chance you get, you hypocrite!" Bayonetta said.

"You know me too well, sis." Yang said.

"Was this not it?" Weiss asked.

"It was fine, sis." Dante said, earning a smile from his sister.

"No, it just wasn't very good." Yang said as she followed Blake."Better than some of yours." Dante said.

"Oh, you did not!" She snapped.

"Well, at least I'm trying!" Weiss pouted.

"I thought jokes were supposed to bring people together." Kratos said.

"Good jokes can. Bad jokes can tear people apart faster than Ruby can run." Bayonetta said.

"Hey, NOTHING'S faster than me!" Ruby boasted, before realizing something. "Wait... Where are Sun and Neptune?" She suddenly wondered.

"Do we HAVE to find them?" Ryu asked.

* * *

Sun and Neptune were sitting in the middle stools of the "A Simple Wok Noodle House" eating their plates of noodles with the Shopkeep behind the counter and their weapons leaning on the other two stools.

"They're probably fine, right?" Neptune asked.

"Probably." Sun confirmed.


	17. News on the Nikos

The scene opened to Pyrrha gearing up in a locker room, putting on her equipment and proceeding down a hallway into the arena, as flashes of her battle with Team CRDL were she was still exiting toward the arena, the scene cut to her running and shifting Miló from rifle to spear form to confront Cardin Winchester. Eventually, she launched her spear at Dove Bronzewing and then knocked Sky Lark to the ground. Cardin unleashed a short column of fire from the red Dust crystal in his mace before he and Sky attempted to double-team Pyrrha.

"Two on one doesn't seem fair... for them." Dante smirked.

Pyrrha threw her shield, which hit Cardin in the face and bounced back to hit Sky as well. She then flipped backward through the air to land on Sky, incapacitating him. Dove and Russel Thrush rushed her together, but she was able to drive them back as Cardin leapt in to smash at her with his mace.

"He's still trying? He needs to just sit down." Bayonetta said, rolling her eyes.

Pyrrha open fired with rifle-form Miló, but Russel covered Cardin, deflecting every shot with his daggers. He and Dove charged at Pyrrha, with Russel leaping into the air and performing a triple somersault; however, the attack was easily deflected. Russel and Dove proceeded to strike at Pyrrha together, demonstrating precision through their ability to avoid hitting one another during the attack. Cardin attempted to capitalize on the distraction, but was unable to keep up with Pyrrha. Russel ducked in under Cardin for a surprise attack, but also proved himself unable to wear her down.

"I don't know where to commend their determination, or if they're just too stupid to give up." Ryu said, observing the slaughterfest.

Dove moved in after Russel was knocked to the ground. After a couple of deflected swipes, he fired on her with his sword, but she was able to bull right through using her shield. Although he was able to avoid her attack, Dove found himself knocked out of the fight by an errant swing from Cardin, who moved in for one final assault. Pyrrha knocked Cardin into the air and then leapt to slam him into the ground.

"Yes! That's my sister!" Kratos cheered proudly.

Glynda approached from behind Cardin who clutches his ribs. "And that's the match." She said.

"Lucky shot." Cardin said, before collapsing.

"Luck?! Hey, dumbass, she took on 4 of you and didn't get hit once while making you look like idiots! Admittedly, that isn't hard, but that's skill, not luck!" Kratos snapped, scaring the other members of the pathetic team.

"Well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament." Glynda praised.

"Thank you, professor." Pyrhha said gratefully.

Glynda tapped her scroll to catalog the events of the match and prepare for the next one. "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match." She said, looking around at the observing students. "Any volunteers? Ms. Belladonna?" She asked, to which Blake slammed her book shut and stared wide-eyed at Glynda. "You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-." She started, before Mercury raised his hand.

"I'll do it." He said.

"Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent." Glynda said.

"Actually, I wanna fight... her." He said, pointing at Pyrrha.

"Me?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished the match. I recommend you choose another partner." Glynda said.

Pyrrha was about to interrupt and oblige, but Kratos stood up. "I'll fight him. I'm the closest thing to fighting her, so you won't leave too disappointed." He said. He didn't know why, but there was something about Mercury that made him suspicious of the silver-haired teen, so if he was trying anything, he'd rather have it happen to him than to Pyrrha.

Mercury growled and was about to decline, but Glynda answered first. "Excellent show, Kratos. Very well, you two get down her and let the match begin.

* * *

Mercury struts into the arena, glaring furiously at Kratos, who met it with a stern, hardened glare. He fired a round from his boot at Kratos, who blocked it with his Golden Fleece, absorbing the energy with Dust and flinging it back, shocking Mercury, but he managed to dodge it. He rushed in, but Kratos readied his shield and spear, blocking Mercury's double stomp and shoving him back, causing him to stumble, but he recovered quickly enough to be able to dodge Kratos' powerful wide swings of his spear, even throwing a kick as Kratos lunged forward and stabbed at him with the spear, holding back the blade with his foot

Ruby turned toward Emerald sitting behind her. "Hey, your friend's doing pretty good." She said excitedly. Emerald gave a fake smile and then rolled her eyes as Ruby turned her back.

Kratos pulled back his spear and lunged forward once more, slamming into Mercury with his shield and knocking him down. Mercury unleashes a series of powerful strikes, but Kratos managed to dodge these while switching weapons again, now readying his Cestus. Mercury threw a round kick at Kratos head, but Kratos once again readied the Fleece and absorbed the energy from the kick, shoving outward and knocking Mercury back a second time. The two of them engaged in hand-to-foot combat, but Mercury was still at a clear disadvantage despite his greater speed, Kratos managing to keep up and hit like a Goliath.

Kratos threw a haymaker while Mercury threw a jumping/spinning rear kick, the two powerful metal limbs- I mean metal WEAPON-COVERED limbs connecting and creating a powerful burst of wind, Mercury landed from the kick and looked up just in time for Kratos to slam the other Cestus into him and knock him back. He fired several more rounds at Kratos, who slammed his cestus into the ground and dragged them forward and upward, the combo of ground and air Dust in the weapons creating a shockwave that negated the blasts, but dissipated before it reached Mercury. "This is the end!" Kratos said, switching to his short swords and flinging them at Mercury, stabbing the ground in front of his feet, pulling himself in and slicing towards him.

"I forfeit." Mercury said non-chalantly.

Kratos was caught off-guard at this, just barely managing to stop his swing, his sword stopping a mere centimeter away from his neck. Any slight movement to the left from the kicker and Mercury's neck would be right against the blade. "What is the meaning of this?! You're not even going to try?!" Kratos demanded, pulling his blade back.

Mercury simply shrugged at this. "What's the point? You're a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart." He said, the three other members of team SCRN looking at each other, all agreeing this was suspicious.

"In that case... Kratos Nikos is the victor of the match." Glynda said off-screen.

Emerald smirked. Mercury sneered smugly. Kratos growled in annoyance and disappointment, placing his swords on his back and walking off. The Aura displays for Kratos and Mercury are shown as Mercury's was changed from green to red indicating his loss.

"Next time, you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent." Glynda said.

"I'll be sure to do that." Mercury said.

An alarm sounded which jolted Blake who had nodded off. "That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses." Glynda said off-screen.

"Talk about anti-climactic." Dante said.

"Indeed. He wasn't exactly making you beg for mercy, but he could at least hold his own against you. No reason to suddenly quit like that." Bayonetta added.

"Coward! He didn't deserve to fight a warrior like me, let alone Pyrrha!" Kratos snapped.

Ryu looked to be in thought at this, before answering. "And, maybe it was just me, but did it seem like he was trying to draw out your attacks, as if he was trying to figure out the way you fight... and find your flaws." He said.

"I can't speak for him learning my flaws, but if he was trying to figure me out, the one thing he should figure out is never step up to a Nikos if you aren't on our level." Kratos said, to which the others rolled their eyes.

As everyone left, Mercury stopped beside Emerald glaring at Kratos. "I thought you were supposed to learn in school." He growled.

* * *

Outside, SSSN were standing at the entrance as Teams RWBY and SCRN walked past. Sun noticed Blake and ran after her. "Hey, Blake!" Sun called, grabbing Blake by her shoulder. "You uh, doing okay?" He asked.

Blake shut the book she was reading and looked at him. "I'm fine." She said.

Yang looked back and narrowed her eyes a bit, seeing Sun so close to Blake. "Why he touching my girl? What's he doing with my girl?!" She demanded, activating Ember Celica.

"Whoa, there, firecracker! Calm down! I don't see him getting very far!" Bayonetta said, holding her sister back to prevent her from murdering the monkey faunus.

"So I hear there's this dance going on this weekend... ah, sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?" He asked.

"What?" He asked.

"The dance! This weekend! You wanna go, or what?" He asked.

"I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that." Blake snapped, walking away past her team. Sun snk from his rejection. "You what?" Blake demanded off-screen.

* * *

The scene shifted to teams RWBY and SCRN in the former's dorm room. Blake was sitting with her arms crossed. "With two sets of ears, you should've heard it the first time." Bayonetta said.

"We want you to go to the dance." Ruby said again.

"That's ridiculous." Blake snapped.

"Blake, we're worried about you. This investigation is starting to mess with your head." Yang said.

"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering." Weiss lectured, counting the facts on her fingers.

"You think I care about grades?" Blake demanded.

"You should if you want to stay in the most prestigious combat school on Remnant and keep being a huntress-in-training, your ONLY means of authority to arrest the White Fang." Ryu countered.

She shrugged and then gestured out the window. People's lives are at stake!" She snapped.

Yang put her hand on Blake's, lowering it. "We know, and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to." She said.

"But in the meantime, your life is at stake, too. Lack of sleep is a problem on its own, but with you barely eating, you'll be lucky not to pass out at any given time." Kratos added.

"Besides, thanks to you and Sun, we know they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale." Ruby reminded.

"And, the Schnee company records singled out Vale as the primary target for Dust robberies over the last few months." Weiss confirmed.

"Don't forget about their missing military tech too." Yang added.

"So we already have all the answers we need to track them down and wreck their whole operation." Dante said.

"But there's still unanswered questions!" Blake snapped.

"Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open!" Ruby added.

"Seriously, I'm amazed you haven't dropped already." Bayonetta added.

"All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day." Yang said.

"It will be fun! Yang and I will make sure of it." Weiss said.

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!" Yang said, pumping her fists which caused the bed to bounce Blake. She then snuggled up to her faunus crush. "I'll make the night special just for you." She said.

"Excuse me?" Blake asked.

"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected." Weiss explained.

"There was already a huge Grimm population where they were, but scans have shown the numbers only doubled since Team CFVY left." Dante added.

"So, Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off. And now we can make sure you have the perfect night." Yang said.

"And once it's all over, we'll return for our search, rested and ready." Weiss explained.

"Even the greatest huntsmen and huntresses of all time needed to stop and take breaks." Ryu added.

"So what do ya think?" Ruby asked.

"I think this is a colossal waste of time." Blake grumbled, walking away from the group and opening the dorm door. "I'll be in the library." She said, walking out of the room.

"Great." Yang said in annoyance.

"You can't help those who don't want it." Bayonetta said.

"But how can we save Vale from a huge, evil plot if we can't save our teammate from herself?" Ruby asked.

"You're asking the wrong person, dear sister." The older dark-haired girl said, hugging her little sister.

"She can't keep going on like this." Weiss said.

"She's only operating on sheer willpower at this point. But that can only get her so far in a state like this." Kratos said.

"That's a little morbid..." Weiss said uncomfortably.

There was a knock at the door and Weiss approached and opened it. Jaune appeared at the door with a guitar. "Weiss!" He sang.

Weiss slammed the door in his face. "Oh, come on, open the door! I promise not to sing." He complained, knocking on the door, Weiss sighing before opening it. "I lied! Weiss Schu-nee, will you accompany me, to the dance on... Sunday!?" He sang. (No homo here, but damn, he's a good singer, he'd get me to go with him!)

"Are you done?" She asked.

"Yes?" He said unsurely, shrugging.

"No." She declined, shutting the door in his face. Turning around, she saw the others staring at her. "What?" She demanded.

Ruby and Yang are standing precariously while Team SCRN sat normally. "And that is why they call you the Ice Queen." Yang and Dante said together as Ruby finally collapsed.

"All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name." Weiss explained.

"Jaune was interested in you before he even knew your name. He's a dork, but he's a good kid." Dante said.

"But like you said, he's a dork. Besides, I already have a date in mind." She said, looking at Ruby, who seemed to depressed to notice.

"Date or no date, none of this will matter if we can't get Blake to go." Ruby said.

* * *

That night, Pyrrha Jaune and Kratos were sparring at their spot on the roof. Jaune jumped to the left to avoid Kratos swung his left-hand sword down at him, raising his shield and deflecting a horizontal strike from Kratos right-hand sword and using his sword to block the other sword as Kratos swung it again. He then pulled both blades back and swung them low at Jaune's feet, forcing the blonde boy to leap forward, blocking an attack from Pyrrha as she tried to take advantage of his vulnerable state after jumping. Jaune put away his shield as they then engaged in one-on-one combat. Jaune appeared to have gained the upper hand until Pyrrha swept his legs out from under him. She laughed a bit at this. "Well done! Your swordplay's improved immensely." She said, helping Jaune to his feet.

"Your speed and reflexes have also greatly improved." Kratos added.

"I couldn't have done it without you two." He said.

"So, are you ready to move on to Aura?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm actually thinking maybe we just skip Aura for tonight? Might go on a jog or something." Jaune said, to which Kratos rolled his eyes.

"Come on, I know you get frustrated, but you must keep trying. I'm sure you'll discover your Semblance any day now." Pyrrha urged.

"You'll only get so far without aura or your Semblance. You're going to hit a wall soon where you won't be able to improve much more than you have now." Kratos said.

"That's not it. It's just..." He started, hesitating a bit. "It's dumb." He said.

"What is it?" She asked as she approache Jaune and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, you know you can tell me." She said.

"And I promise not to make fun of your or hit you if I don't like what you say." Kratos promised.

"It's... Weiss." He admitted.

"Oh." Pyrrha said simply, her face falling slightly, before she put on a small, fake smile. "What about her?" She asked. Kratos growled and glared a bit at Jaune, noticing his sister's sudden sadness.

"I asked her to the dance and she shot me down." He explained, giggling halfheartedly. "Big surprise, right?" He said.

"Well, I believe the saying goes: There's... plenty of fish in the sea." Pyrrha said.

"Exactly, stop trying to catch the one that keeps getting away and look for an easier target." Kratos said, gesturing not-so-subtly to Pyrrha, nodding his eyes and head towards her. He still didn't quite like the idea of Jaune being with Pyrrha, but she clearly only wanted the blonde, so he stuck by her decision as a good brother.

"That's easy for you to say. You've both probably got guys and girls clamoring over each other just to ask you out." He said.

Pyrrha:(chuckles half-heartedly) You'd be surprised.

"No one's asked. Either of us. Not even Pyrrha." Kratos said bluntly, trying to point out the obvious without saying it.

However, Jaune somehow didn't understand and dismissed the thought. "Oh please. If you two don't get dates to the dance, I'll wear a dress. Heh." He chuckled to himself as he walked away.

"You do and I will lose ALL respect I have for you!" Kratos called after him, before sighing and looking at Pyrrha as she dropped her smile and looksed rather upset. "Although, at this rate, that's more than likely." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a supportive side-hug. He would beat it into Jaune, but that would pretty much ruin the mood, as Pyrrha wanted him to see and discover for himself how she feels about him.

"And finally, Pyrrha Nikos." Emerald said off-screen.

* * *

The scene shifted to Cinder in her dorm room, sewing a black dress as she sat on one of the beds. Emerald was sitting on the floor while looking at her Scroll, and Mercury was lying on the ground and reading a comic book.

"Ah, the invincible girl." Cinder said, seeing Pyrrha's image on Emerald's scroll.

Mercury growled a bit at this. "I couldn't get any info on her. Her big brother stepped in and ruined my chance to figure her out." He said.

"Ahh, yes. The so-called Ghost of Mistral." Cinder said, looking at his image when Emerald switched to it (I know I called him the Ghost of Remnant before, but Ghost of Mistral makes more sense, as that's where he's from). "And what do we know about him?" She asked.

Mercury growled again. "Not a lot. Just that he has a lot of weapons. He kept switching to a different weapon before I could get any kind of read or clue about how to deal with him when he's using that one. And he's ridiculously strong, too. You might even have trouble against him." Mercury said.

"Oh, shut up! Cinder can overpower anyone!" Emerald snapped, slapping his shoulder.

"It's not about overpowering the enemy. It's about taking away the power they have." Cinder said. " And we will, in time. Put both Nikos twins on the list." She ordered, Emerald doing so.

"I hate waiting." Mercury said.

"Don't worry, Mercury. We have a fun weekend ahead of us." Cinder said evilly.


	18. Revelations

We see a glum Ruby resting her head on her hand and staring into the distance before she was startled by someone slamming their palms on the table she was at.

"I need you to pick a tablecloth." Weiss said, smiling as she slid two squares over to Ruby, both seeming to be similar shades of white.

"Aren't they both the same?" Ruby asked, confused.

Weiss sighed in frustration. "I don't even know why I asked!" She huffed, walking away.

Weiss walked out of the scene as Yang came in carrying a massive sound speaker on her shoulder, which bounced her sister and the table she was moping on again to jump in the air when she dropped it on the ground. Yang brushed her hands as she approached Ruby "So, have you picked out a dress yet?" She asked.

"What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, don't worry; she's going." Yang asked.

"And so are you." Weiss said, walking up to Ruby. Jaune then walked into the room, looking rather confident and holding a white rose. seeing Weiss and starting to walk towards her. "Because I will be taking you to the dance, Ruby Rose!" Weiss said authoritatively. Jaune was shocked at this, before dropping the rose and walking back where he came from.

"It'll be hard to notice her, though, when all eyes will be on me." Bayonetta said sassily as she moved some tables around.

"I don't think so, sis. All the guys and most the girls will be too busy drooling over me." Yang said.

"Is that a challenge?" Bayonetta asked, walking up and leaning in with a glare.

"It is and it's on!" Yang said, leaning in and matching her twin's glare, before looking over off-screen, exasperated. "Weiss! I thought we agreed: No doilies!" She said.

Weiss walked up to Yang, pointing in her face. "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" She countered.

"Oh, come on, sis! You can't deny us the awesomeness of fog machines!" Dante said, setting up a stage, some lights and fire machines for a performance he'd give later.

"I can and I will if I don't get my doilies. We still need to let the people know we have some class." She insisted.

The girls were interrupted by the sound of doors opening. "Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked, walking in with Sun.

"We were thinking about it..." Weiss said.

"That's pretty cool." Neptune said.

"You ladies all excited for dress-up?" Sun asked, acting suave to Weiss' ire.

"Pfft... Yeah, right!" Ruby said.

"Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night!" Yang said.

"Turning them away from you and towards me!" Bayonetta taunted.

"Oh, that's it!" Yang said, tackling her twin, the two having a catfight similar to the one Ruby and Yang had on their first night at Beacon.

"Shouldn't we break this up?" Ryu asked.

"Not on your life!" Dante said, watching eagerly.

Weiss rolled her eyes at her brother's antics, before addressing Sun and Neptune. "What are you two wearing?"

"Uuhhh... this?" Sun said unsurely, gesturing to his current shirtless outfit as everyone looked at him as if to say "really?".

"Ignore him for he knows not what he says." Neptune said, holding a hand in front of his friend's face.

"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place." Sun said as he knocked Neptune's hand away.

"Yeah, we noticed." Yang said, mirroring Ruby's and Weiss' looks of being told something extremely obvious

Sun rubbed the back of his head as he prepared to ask. "Soooo... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know... Blake-y?" He asked.

"Obviously." Weiss said, turning and crossing her arms in disapproval.

"She's obsessed with this mission. Obsessions are never an easy thing to just get over. Trust me. I know very well." Ryu said.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind." Ruby said.

"Guys." Yang said, everyone looking at her as she started walking out. "Trust me; Blake will be at the dance tomorrow." She said, leaving.

"I should go with her, just so she doesn't make things worse." Bayonetta said.

* * *

The Faunus herself was sitting at one of the library tables with a holographic screen in front of her. She was obviously more sleep-deprived than ever, barely focusing on what she's seeing... until a small, bright red light appeared on the screen. Moving up and down, Blake's eyes followed it down to her hand, then disappeared entirely. She looked behind herself, obviously irritated, but no one walking among the tables was her culprit.

Turning back to the computer, she started typing on the beeping keyboard before the laser dot appeared on her hand briefly, prompting her to look around again and still finding no one. The red point showed up on the screen, moving around in circles until Blake scowled and pounded her fists on the table. She stood up from her chair and found the light on the floor, following it blindly through shelves of books until both the dot and its pursuer turned the corner, only for Blake to bump, shocked and shaken out of her more "animal" instincts, into...

Yang waved with her left hand as her right held the laser pointer. "He-lloooo!" She said in a sing-song voice.

"Hey, kitty cat." Bayonetta said.

"What are you...?" Blake asked.

"We need to talk." Yang said, grabbing Blake's arm. And with that, amid Blake's single cry of surprise, Yang whisked her partner out of the scene. Bayonetta was a little surprised at this, before becoming annoyed that she was left behind, following after them with a roll of her eyes.

* * *

Emerging from the steaming bathroom in nothing but a pink towel wrapped around his lower body, Ren sighed in contentedness and started walking away, only to be stopped by Jaune and Kratos walking past him. "Ren. You should join us for some training. Pyrrha is unavailable, so perhaps you could fill in for her. You could use work on your stamina, anyway." Kratos said.

"But I just showered. I don't want to get all sweaty and smelly again before the dance." He said.

"You can always shower again before the dance." Kratos suggested.

"Ren, trust me, it'll be easier on both of us if you go along with it." Jaune said, although he seemed to not want to train as much as Ren.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" He asked.

"No. Now we'll swing by your dorm so you can get dressed, then we'll head to the roof." Kratos said, grabbing Ren's arm. And with that, amid Ren's single cry of surprise, Kratos pulled Ren away, leaving his bottle of "Samurai Shampoo" to spin in the air before dropping to the ground.

* * *

Soon enough, the three were training on the roof, Ren adding a unique take on the training, as the two had to adapt from Pyrrha's style to his, his speedier martial arts style being vastly different from Pyrrha's more defensive style, allowing him to dodge their attacks with relative ease and catch them off-guard to land a few of his own, managing to knock Jaune down with a jumping/spinning rear kick, causing the blonde knight to fall flat on his back. "Okay! Okay that's enough!" Jaune said, waving his arms for them to stop, rolling onto his side, panting a little bit, but both of the two with him knew he had plenty more fight in him than that. He apparently wasn't willing to show it off, though. "I'm done for the night. This needs to be over." Jaune said.

"We've only been out here for 5 minutes. You know we always go for at least 20." Kratos said.

"Not tonight, though. I'm just not feeling it." Jaune said.

"Jaune, what is this about? You're not acting like yourself. You're normally excited to train, so you can improve and become a better huntsman." Ren said, concerned for his leader.

Jaune looked at him for a moment, before sighing. "It's Weiss. She asked Ruby to the dance. I'm head over heels for her, but she won't even give me a chance." He said.

Kratos was furious at this, grabbing Jaune, picking him up and slamming him against a wall, holding him roughly against it. "You need to stop obsessing over this one girl! Clearly she isn't even into you! You know who you should be focusing on? Someone who is into you! Pyrrha!" He snapped.

Jaune was shocked, first at Kratos' sudden lashing out, then at what he had just said. "Pyrrha... likes me? Like, more than a friend?" He asked.

"Is that really that much of a surprise? Think of all she's done for you, Jaune. She was interested in you from the first moment you met, she saved you from falling to your death in the Emerald Forest, unlocked your aura and has been training you since the first month of school. Why would she do all of those things if she didn't care about you?" Ren asked.

Jaune took in all this information in and with every example, he saw more and more how obvious it was that Pyrrha liked him and he felt awful that his friends had to spell it out for him in order for him to realize it. "How could I not see all this time that Pyrrha liked me? It's obvious and every time she tried to tell me or give me a hint, I was just oblivious or brushed her off... I've gotta go find her and say I'm sorry." He said.

Kratos nodded at this and let the boy down. "Go. And good luck." He said, Jaune taking off.

"That was pretty mature of you, Kratos. You're putting aside your disapproval of Jaune for Pyrrha." Ren said.

"Her happiness is more important than I feel. And I hate to say it, but Jaune is good for her." He said.

* * *

Jaune rushed around the school, looking for Pyrrha, before finding her on a balcony. "Pyrrha!" He called.

"Oh!" She said in shock, turning around to see who called to her. "Jaune!" She said, now even more surprised.

"Hey." He said. There was a moment of silence, before Jaune finally sighed. "Pyrrha, I'm sorry." He said.

"What? What for?" She asked.

"I've been trying to get Weiss to like me for so long, I never noticed how much you liked me and all the incredible things you've done for me. I haven't appreciated you nearly as much as I should have and for that, I'm sorry." He apologized.

Pyrrha was taken aback by this, before smiling and resisting the urge to cry tears of joy. "It's fine, Jaune. I'm just... So happy you're seeing how I feel. Hearing this is like a dream come true." She said.

He smiled and chuckled a bit at this. "So, do you have a date for the dance?" He asked.

"No. I've been _blessed_ with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm _constantly_ surrounded by love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place." She explained, turning back to Jaune _._ "Everyone _assumes_ I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain and Kratos has done everything in his power to reinforce that idea. It's become impossible to form _any_ sort of meaningful relationship with people. That's what I like about _you_. When we met, you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else. And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess, you're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me for me."She said.

"Well, then are you too good to go to the dance with me?" He asked, holding out his hand.

She smiled at this, walking up and taking his hand. "Not at all. I would love to join you." She said.

* * *

"Bayo, Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well save your breaths." Blake said. Yang was sitting cross-legged on the central desk of the empty classroom they're in as Bayonetta leaned against the desk.

"I don't want you to stop; I want you to slow down." Yang explained.

"Exactly. You've been drifting in and out of sleep for a few days. What would happen if you did that in a fight?" Bayonetta asked.

Blake continuing to pace with arms crossed, still irritated. "I don't have the luxury to slow down. And I won't just fall asleep in the middle of battle." She snapped.

"Yes, you will. If you keep preventing yourself from sleeping and not eating enough, eventually, your body will shut itself down in order to recharge. And if that happens in front of an enemy, they'll pull the plug before you can recharge." Bayonetta said, visibly scaring Blake a bit, but she shook it off.

"I can keep myself going for as long as I need to. Like I said, I don't have the luxury to slow down.

"It's not a luxury; it's a necessity." Yang said.

"The 'necessity' is stopping Torchwick." Blake countered.

"It's pretty hard to stop someone when you can barely keep your eyes open." Bayonetta countered.

"Girls, we're going to stop him. Together with Team RWBY and Team SCRN. But first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say." She said, looking at Blake at the end, patting the part of the desk across from her.

Blake looked away for a moment until she relented and draped her legs over the desk's edge. "Fine." She said.

"Ruby, Bayo and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom took on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like... Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then... one day she left for a mission and never came back." She said, looking down as she said this, Bayonetta doing the same, holding in a bit of a sob, Blake looking sorry for her friends. "It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but... I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? Bayonetta was crushed and our dad just kind of... shut down. It wasn't long before we learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first... was our mom." She explained, pulling Bayonetta in a bit. Blake looked amazed at this information while Bayonetta flinched a bit.

"That woman gave us life, but Summer was our mom." Bayonetta explained. Blake pretty quickly pieced it together that while they lost Summer, their mother abandoned them.

"He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she'd left us with him right after we was born. No one had seen her since." Yang explained.

"Why did she leave you?" She asked.

"Because she's a heartless woman that doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself." Bayonetta said with venom in her voice. It was obvious to Blake that Bayonetta clearly didn't like her mother, she could also see a bit of loneliness in her eyes. Only Bayonetta herself knew this, but in her last life, her mother loved her very much, but was taken for her, so for a mother to not want her and leave her was heartbreaking. It was the very first betrayal of her new life. And we all know Bayonetta does NOT take betrayal well.

Yang sighed, then turned to the chalkboard. "That question... Why?" She said, getting off the desk and walked to the chalkboard, picking up a piece of chalk. "I didn't know an answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could about what they knew about her." She said.

As the reminiscent blonde started drawing on the board, the scene shifted to a flat-painted flashback of a young Yang, with orange bows holding her brunette pigtails, looking at the photo found in a smashed picture frame alongside a young Bayonetta, with her black hair in a ponytail, who glared at the frame. "Then, one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers, or maybe even my mother." She explained. The next shot showed Yang and Bayo walking down a long winding path through the towering trees shedding their leaves as Yang pulled a little creaking wagon right behind them, a little sister in a crimson hood sleeping soundly inside. "I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. Bayonetta warned me not to, but I guilted her into coming with us." She said, cringing a bit at that memory.

"It was my decision, Yang. Don't put that on yourself." Bayonetta said, putting a hand on her twin's shoulder.

Yang recovered and continued the story. "We must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, Bayonetta fell and hit her head we were totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand and Bayo wasn't much better, but I didn't care; we had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes..." She said.

"A trio of Beowulves." Bayonetta explained as beastly red shapes glow from the darkness of the worn-down house the siblings had arrived at, while their younger selves looks petrified.

"There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. I remember a claw being an inch away from my eyes. But, as luck would have it, Bayonetta unlocked our semblance and back us away, smashing one under the wagon before our uncle showed up just in time." Yang explained again.

As the Beowolves leapt into the air to devour their young prey, the familiar sound of a gun-scythe followed the sight of them all being cut into pieces by a caped warrior. His bird-haired silhouette faded away to present day, where Yang has just finished drawing a clockwork eye.

"I'd say it was more panic and adrenaline than luck." Bayonetta said.

"My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night. And Bayonetta had to save me, the older sister. And Ruby, who we both promised to protect from danger. And I put them in that danger." Yang said.

"Yang... I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-" Blake started.

Still facing the board, Yang clenched her fists. "I told you: I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't! To this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me." She said.

"And I'm still telling her it's a waste of time and effort that could be spent on better things." Bayonetta said with a smirk, to which Yang rolled her eyes.

"But I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process, what good are we?" Yang finished, looking at Blake.

"She's right. We can do this together, but we can't do it if we can't even keep our eyes open, which you're clearly struggling to do." Bayonetta added as Blake's eyes were indeed fluttering rapidly, wanting to close, but Blake holding them open with whatever energy she had left.

"You don't understand! I'm the only one who can do this!" Blake said.

"No you're not. We could report this to pretty much any Huntsman or huntress and they'd deal with it as good as us, if not better!" Bayonetta countered.

"You're the one that doesn't understand!" Yang snapped at Blake, turning around sharply to reveal red eyes and the sound of flames. "If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?"

"I'd fight him!" Blake snapped.

"You'd lose!" Yang snapped back, pushing Blake away.

"I can stop him!" Blake insisted, tiredly tried to do the same to Yang, but she didn't even budge.

"You can't even stop me!" Yang countered, pushing Blake again, knocking her to land on the desk.

"Hey, that's enough! One way we're definitely stopping anyone is by tearing each other apart!" Bayonetta snapped.

Yang, still angry-eyed, walked toward Blake as she got up, but then did the unexpected and embraced her in a hug, her eyes going back to their normal purple. Bayonetta also put an hand on Blake's shoulder.

"I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest." Yang pleaded, pulling back to look at her partner. "Not just for you, but for the people you care about." She said, stepping away and started walking past the startled Blake, who turned when she looked back over her shoulder. And if you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance." Yang said and winked down at Blake, and Blake stared at Yang as she left.

"You have friends, Blake. And your actions effect them as well, not just you. So don't effect them in the wrong way." Bayonetta said, following her sister. Blake took both of their words into consideration for a moment, before sighing heavily and walking away, leaving the all-seeing eye on the board.

* * *

We now see a large collection of white roses, one dropping outward, in a large vase behind Yang, who was now in a short white dress with black heels as she stood at a podium. The doors in front of her open and she flipped out upon seeing who walked in.

"Ooohh, you look beautiful!" She said happily as she saw Ruby, who groaned as she looked distressed in her red dress with black lace, belt, and pumps, Bayonetta helping her along as she tried to maintain her balance as she walked to the podium, much to her laughing sister's amusement.

"Don't I, though?" Bayonetta said, sexily running her hands down her body, now closed in a long black dress with large slits up both sides all the way up to her hips, her hair beautifully worn down instead of its normal beehive-like state.

Yang rolled her eyes at this. "I was talking about Ruby and you know it!" She said.

"On that, we can agree." Bayonetta nodded, looking at Ruby. "You look great, sis." She said.

"Thanks, but can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?" She asked, gesturing to the heels.

"I fight in heels. I just have guns on the back of them for a bit more stability." Bayonetta said.

* * *

Meanwhile outside, Sun was seen walking around and wearing a new black jacket, now closed up, with a white tie hung around his neck, which he proceeded to fight with before going inside. "Stupid... dumb... neck trap!" He grunted.

"I knew you'd look better in a tie." Blake said from off-screen.

Sun stopped his struggling and stared at the dark purple dress and bright blue bow worn by Blake, now looking like she traded her dark bags for violet eyeshadow, as she stepped forward and took him by the arm.

"Sooo, does this mean we're going... together?" Sun asked.

"Technically, I'm going Yang an I are going together with you." Blake explained.

* * *

Inside the ballroom, streamers were hung through glass chandeliers, pink and blue balloons were everywhere, and students in dark suits and bright dresses were stepping with each other to the music between the white-clothed tables. Blake was spun around by Yang before they curtsy to one another, and Sun came up and took his date's hand as Yang gave him a small glare as if to tell him to watch where he put his hangs. She went to hang with Ruby and Weiss, who was in a similar white dress as Yang's, in the back of the room, watching as Blake laughed and enjoyed herself before smiling at her team.

"I told you she would come." Yang said.

"Mission accomplished." Weiss said.

"Soooo, what do we do now?" Ruby turning to her teammates.

"Just have fun!" Yang said as she proceeded to walk away and do so.

"And you are coming with me." Weiss said, taking Ruby's hand and dragging her to the dance floor.

"Huh?! W-w-wait!" Ruby said, struggling to keep her footing as Weiss pulled her along. "Weiss, I really don't know how to dance!" Ruby said nervously.

Weiss rolled her eyes, although she still smiled. "You really are hopeless. You know that?" She asked.

Dante and Bayonetta then appeared beside them. "Come on, sis. That's no way to talk to your date." Dante teased, dressed in a very stylish suit.

"I can talk however I want, LITTLE brother." She said, giving Dante a turn to roll his eyes.

"Here, Ruby, just watch how I move." Bayonetta said as he her and Dante moved across the dance floor, preforming a flawless waltz, looking back at Ruby. "Now your turn." She said.

Ruby gulped, before looking down at her feet and stepping the same way Bayonetta did, managing to follow her footwork perfectly. "This... isn't so bad." She said.

"No. In fact." Weiss said, lifting Ruby's head up to look her in the eyes. "You're doing perfect." She said, smiling. Ruby was a bit surprised at this, before smiling back, the two continuing to dance like eternal lovers.

Yang was back behind the podium and smiled at the new arrivals. "You guys are just in time!" She said happily.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Mercury said as he and Emerald stepped in with their ballroom best on before the screen went black.


	19. Dance 'Tll You Drop Someone

The first scene was of random students schmoozing at the dance. Oobleck was shown to be listening intently as Port laughed over some unheard anecdote. Ozpin is standing off to the side with Glynda Goodwitch until General James Ironwood offers his hand for her to dance with him.

The scene then shifted to Yang leaning on a handrail and overlooking the festivities from a second tier as Ruby approached and leaned on the rail. "You know? I think we really needed this." Yang said.

Blake and Sun were slow dancing while Ryu and Nora appear to be Waltzing. Penny was shown to be dancing alone, guarded by two Atlesian Soldiers. "Yeah, and you did a great job planning it too!" Ruby complimented.

"Aw, thanks!" Yang said happily, reaching over to Ruby, crushing her in a one-arm hug as she flailed frantically. "It wasn't all me, though. Weiss did a lot too." She admitted as Ruby stopped struggling and looks down at Weiss, who was taking a break, sitting down and talking to Dante, who was also taking a moment to rest. "Tomorrow it's back to work." Yang said.

"I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us." Ruby said.

Ryu and Nora continued to dance together throughout the night, now waltzing as a slow song came on. Nora sighed in content and rested her head on Ryu's shoulder. "It's been a long time since we had a calm moment together like this, hasn't it?" She asked.

Ryu smiled at this. "Indeed it has. And I'm glad we were able to have this time together." He agreed. giving her a quick kiss on the lips, causing her to blush and giggle a bit.

"Yeah. We could keep this up all night." Nora said, before noticing her team gathering in the middle of the stage. "After we do our awesome team dance, of course!" She said, pulling away and hurrying to her spot on Jaune's right as they began dancing to the new song that came on.

Ryu was a bit shocked when Nora suddenly, pulled away, but chuckled when he saw team JNPR do a great dance number together. "Not bad at all, wouldn't you agree, Bayonetta?" Ryu asked as the former Umbra walked up beside him, along with Dante.

"It looks like we're being showed up. We'll have to kick this party up a notch!" Dante said.

"Try to keep up with me, boys!" Bayonetta said, walking up on the stage with her team, a distance of maybe 5 feet between the two of them as Bayonetta led Team SCRN in a fast-paced dance (the one she does at the end of Bayonetta. Look up Bayonetta dance and you'll find it).

"Oh, it's on now!" Jaune said, him and Bayonetta stepping forward to engage in a dance-off, Jaune pulling off a few decent moves, but nothing compared to the moves Bayonetta was preforming, with short pauses in between to end a few moves in a sexy pose, like the ones she did against the first Joy she encountered, which got the crowd roaring in approval.

"Whoo! Go, Bayonetta! Show him that the girls own the dance floor!" Yang cheered.

The two of them finished and Team JNPR looked at them as if to say 'bring out your next challenger'. "Alright, not bad. But it's time fore the big event of the night." Dante said, heading onto the stage he had been setting up earlier, picking up Nevan and strumming a powerful chord huge spouts of fire rising from the pyrotechnic machines.

 _ **Taste The Blood from Devil May Cry 3**_

 _"The flinch in your eye calls your bluff_  
 _Feel free to die when you've had enough_  
 _Useless cause is breaking your back_  
 _Your life will end when you attack_

 _Make your move_  
 _Make your stand_  
 _Make the win_  
 _(ha..) Like you can_

 _See the war_  
 _See me rule_  
 _See the mirror_  
 _You'll see a fool_

 _To take me out you must fight like a man_  
 _(To take me out you must fight like a man)_  
 _You've yet to prove that you can_  
 _(You've yet to prove me that you can)_  
 _I see your might and it compares to something_  
 _(I see your might and it compares to something)_  
 _That is if something is nothing_  
 _(That is if something is nothing)_

 _Time to figure_  
 _Time to sin_  
 _Your times done_  
 _When you begin_

 _Live for suffer_  
 _Live for revenge_  
 _Now your life_  
 _Comes to an end_

 _Taste the blood_  
 _Taste your fate_  
 _Swallow your pride_  
 _With your hate_

 _Your last breath_  
 _Your last stance_  
 _The last of all_  
 _In your command_

 _Knee's in the (blood) with your crying pleas_  
 _Wade in your sorrow, bathe in your fear_  
 _Clear the mind from righteousness suffered_  
 _Witness the moment of (your) failures prosper."_

The crowd roared in approval and began jumping to the beat. "Yeah, Dante!" Yang and Ruby cheered as Bayonetta whistled.

Even Weiss was ecstatic over her twin's performance. "Incredible! That's my brother!" She called out.

However, from the back of the crowd, Mercury and Emerald looked at each other and smirked. "Too easy." Mercury said.

"All the students are pre-occupied." Emerald said.

 _"How long do I have?"_ Cinder asked over an earpiece.

"You should probably be home by midnight, to be safe." Mercury advised.

Cinder Fall was shown to be somewhere outside, holding her fingers to her ear. "I'll keep my eye on the clock." She said.

Ruby, having made her way to the exit, walked out of the dance and into the night air. She watched a figure running along the rooftops and then moved to pursue. However, Kratos noticed this out of the corner of his eye. "Where could she be going?" He wondered, hurrying after her.

* * *

Outside the Cross Continental Transmit System Tower, Cinder, dressed as a cat burglar, stealthily approached an armed guard. She knife-handed the back of his head, rendering him unconscious with a stunned grin on his face. She dragged him behind some bushes, looking up and gasping as she saw Dio standing just behind the bush, looking at her. "So far, so good." He said.

"What are you doing here?!" She demanded.

"I had a feeling you'd be detected, so I decided to drop by and tie up anyone who might become a loose end." He explained.

"I don't need help. I'm perfectly capable of doing this on my own." She said.

"Very well, but don't come crying to me if someone does happen to discover you." He said, vanishing into the darkness.

Cinder growled at this, but continued towards the tower. Inside the building, Cinder approached more guards. "Excuse me, no one's allowed in this area." Soldier #1 told her. However, Cinder continued to approach. "Stop!" He ordered.

The soldier open fired when Cinder didn't heed him. She managed to overpower him, using his gun to take out another approaching soldier. She then threw him against a handrail. Two more soldiers rushed her wielding batons. Cinder flash-forged a pair of black blades from fire Dust and trounced them both. Two guards were shown to be on an elevator. "Hey, man, do you know the Wi-Fi password?" Soldier #2 asked.

"It's Beacon, but replace the E with a 3 and add a pound symbol to the end." Soldier #3 answered. The elevator door opened to show Cinder waiting. One of the guards noticed the fallen men outside. Both guards grew apprehensive as Cinder casually walked onto the elevator, the doors closing as she turned around. Thrashing sounds could be heard from outside the elevator.

* * *

Outside the building, Ruby approached and saw the unconscious guard. She gasped and pulled out her scroll, dialing for her weapon locker which crashed into the courtyard and opened to reveal Crescent Rose. From his position on the roof of the tower, Dio smirked. "I knew it. Oh, Cinder, you always were too sure of yourself. But now I'll have the chance to knock her down a few pegs when she sees she was indeed caught." He said, diving down from the roof, summoning Za Warudo, who prepared to throw a massive punch down on Ruby just as she looked up to see her attacker.

But suddenly, chains wrapped around Crescent Rose and yanked back, taking Ruby with them, causing Dio to crash to the ground, instead, glaring up at whoever ruined his attack. Ruby also looked back, shocked to see Kratos as the chains unwound from around Crescent Rose and retracted into Kratos' vambraces, which he had on under his shirt. "Kratos! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I saw you leave the party, so I figured something better would happen here." He explained.

"Someone broke into the communications building! I think they're still in there!" She told him.

"Then go on. I'll handle this guy." He said.

"Right!" She said, rushing towards the door, which Dio still stood ready to guard.

"Useless!" He said, readying an attack, but using her semblance, Ruby managed to maneuver around Dio and get inside. "Dammit! A little girl caught me off-guard! Inexcusable! The Worl-!" He started, preparing to use his semblance and stop time to attack the girl, but then a head of one of the Nemean Cestus slammed into the back of his head, causing him to fall forward. He got to all 4's and turned around, glaring furiously at Kratos as he approached, his other vambrace became the second cestus. "How dare you, maggot!" Dio snapped as Ruby made it into the other elevator.

"Your fight is with me, coward!" Kratos snapped as he rushed towards Dio, who launched himself forward, summoning Za Warudo to attack.

* * *

On the top floor of the building, the elevator doors opened to show Cinder examining a scroll. The two guards were knocked out. "Oh! That's handy." She said, pocketing the scroll and walked out of the elevator and toward the control consoles nearby.

 _"A party guest is leaving."_ Emerald warned her via earbud.

Cinder sighed at the potentially inconvenient news. "Which one?" She asked.

"Ironwood." Emerald explained as she was shown to be dancing with Mercury.

Ironwood was shown to be walking out the door as Ozpin gave his send-off. "I guess the general's had enough fun for one night." Mercury said off-screen. Random code appearing on a computer screen was shown to change into a Queen chess piece. _"Should we intervene?"_ He asked over the earbud.

The other monitors in the room then lit up. "No... we're done here." Cinder said. But as she started to walk away, she noticed the elevator doors opening. Ruby stepped out of the elevator slowly, brandishing her weapon.

"Hello?" Ruby called. She stumbled due to her high-heeled shoes, but continued forward. "Is anyone there? Hello?" Ruby called again. Cinder rose from her hiding place and stepped out toward Ruby. "Excuse me? You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-!" Ruby started, before Cinder suddenly attacked!

* * *

Kratos blocked The World's haymaker with his cestus, staggering him a few steps, before Dio delivered a kick to his stomach, knocking him back a few feet and causing him to roll back into a 3 point landing, slamming one fist into the ground to stop himself. Dio launched himself and The World at Kratos once more, but this time Kratos raised the fist he didn't slam into the ground and launched the lion head at the monster, catching him off-guard and hitting him directly in the face, blood spewing from split teeth and a broken nose.

"How dare you lay your dirty fists on me maggot!" He snapped.

"You're with Torchwick and the others. We already have all we need to know on you. Now we just have to take you down. And here's the first step!" Kratos roared, shooting the lion heads out to his sides, then swinging them forwards towards Dio.

"The World!" He announced, stopping time. The two lion heads stopped mere inches from Dio's head as he simply took a step back, using his aura to heal his nose and such as he sent The World forward, hitting Kratos over a dozen times. "A shame. You took your first step and you fell. But that is exactly what happens to all who face us. Fighting back is useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, USELESS!" He ranted as The World threw one more punch just as time restarted, sending the former Spartan flying back once again.

Kratos groaned as he sat up, feeling the pain from the various hits. "Damn. I couldn't even see what happened. He was right where I wanted him, then countered in an instant. Is it possible? He might have a time semblance like Bayonetta. In that case, I've got a plan for next time. He called out 'The World' before he countered me. So at least I have a warning." He said getting back up and slamming his fists into the ground, creating a shockwave towards Dio, who jumped to avoid it, but was shocked to see Kratos right below him, the older Nikos twin having rushed forward just behind the shockwave, concealing himself behind it until he was below Dio, launching himself into the air and swinging his right fist upwards.

Dio summoned Za Warudo again, the golden phantom's throwing a haymaker and clashing fists with Kratos, breaking the gold creature's hand and the damage reflecting back on Dio. "No, my sexy hand!" He screamed as blood spilled from three cuts ripping open on his hand. Kratos then swung his other fist and sent Dio to the ground. Dio growled at this, healing the wounds on his and The World's hands, his aura starting to run low. He'd only be able to use his semblance one more time in this fight and still be able to heal a few wounds. "This time, I'll kill you! The-" Dio started.

"Now!" Kratos said as he landed, unloading a flurry of quick, but powerful punches into the ground at his feet, breaking large slabs of ground around him into a crudely-made dome. Glynda would be pretty annoyed at having to fix the courtyard, but that's easier to deal with than a dead student.

"World!" Dio finished just as Kratos finished his dome. He was shocked to see Kratos had a counter in place in the event of fighting someone who could manipulate time. "Impressive, Kratos. This must be why you and your sister are champions. But you only delay the inevitable!" He shouted, The World rushing forward and pulverizing the dome until it could finally reach Kratos. The golden spirit threw one more punch just as time restarted, knocking Kratos to the ground once again, his aura flickering as a sign of running out.

Kratos grunted as he hit the ground and looked up in time to see The World right in front of him. "Damn!" He shouted, preparing to block as best he could, but he then heard a gunshot rang out, a bullet hitting The World in the shoulder, and a similar hole appearing in Dio's shoulder. "What?" Kratos asked, looking back to see the general beside him. "General Ironwood!" He said.

"Dio Brando. We've been after you for a long time. A terrorist with possibly the most dangerous semblance there is. Putting a stop to you would make a lot of people sleep better tonight." Ironwood said.

(Damn! I don't have enough aura left to use my semblance! And against a full-fledged Huntsman and a world champion like Kratos, even I don't stand a chance!) Dio cursed. "You've won this round, but don't EVER think you can stop the great Dio!" The former vampire snapped as he jumped into the air again, vanishing into the darkness.

"Are you alright?" Ironwood asked, helping Kratos to his feet.

"I'll live, but they still have someone up in the tower and a friend of mine is in there. She might be in over her head." Kratos explained.

"Then let's go!" Ironwood said, the two hurrying inside.

* * *

Cinder produced a container of ice Dust and sent shards of ice flying at Ruby. Ruby twirled Crescent Rose to block the shards and retaliated by firing rounds at Cinder, who blocked these rounds just as easily as she did during their first encounter. Cinder then summoned her dual blades. Ruby whipped Crescent Rose around and fired off a round-going upward and somersaulting down for an attack. Cinder dodged and formed a bow. She fired three arrows that explode on impact with the floor, Ruby was pushed back and stumbled on her heels, but managed to hold her ground.

Suddenly, Ironwood and Kratos arrived on their floor in the elevator. Ruby was visibly glad to see them until she noticed that Cinder has disappeared.

In a hallway, Cinder discarded two bracelets and her mask to change from her stealth suit into a black dress and entered the dance. Two guards following her crushed the bracelets underfoot and were visibly confused at the sight of the crowded dance hall. We see Emerald and Mercury dancing again, until Cinder tapped Emerald's shoulder. "Oh, may I cut in?" She asked.

"Of course." Emerald confirmed, stepping aside and leaving as Cinder began to dance with Mercury.

"And how's your night been?" He asked.

"Mmm... a little more exciting than expected." She answered.

"Should we be worried?" He wondered.

"Hardly... They'll be scratching their heads long after we finished what we came here for." She assured him.

"So then what now?" He asked.

"Enjoy the rest of the night. After all, it is a party." She said simply.

The camera panned away from the two showing the rest of the party. Jaune and Pyrrha were sitting at a table, Sun and Blake were dancing, there was a squad of red and yellow soldiers out side and Ironwood was shown approaching Ruby and Kratos before one last shot of the Queen chess piece appeared on the computer screen and the clock chimed midnight.


	20. Surprises All Around!

We see a shot of Beacon Academy the next day following the Beacon Dance, then cut to inside Ozpin's office, with Ironwood and Glynda keeping the headmaster company.

"They were here... Ozpin, they were here!" Ironwood said, raising his voice and angrily slamming his fist against Ozpin's desk.

"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James." Glynda said.

"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?!" Ironwood demanded.

An alert sound played, signifying that someone had arrived on the elevator. "Come in." Ozpin answered.

Ruby and Kratos stepped out and into the room. "Sorry it took so long. Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the elevator on the way up here." Ruby apologized, Kratos looking at her as she paused before quickly explaining herself. "It wasn't me." She added, Kratos facepalming.

"We were late. And we apologize for that." Kratos said with a small bow of his head.

"Kratos, Ruby. Thank you for coming. How are you feeling?" Ozping asked.

"I'm fine, thank you. My injuries weren't that bad. My aura healed them once it returned." Kratos said.

"I'm okay, I guess. I'd feel better if my bad-guy-catching record wasn't O-for-three." Ruby said, raising three fingers.

Everyone stared silently at her. "Is that really appropriate right now?" Kratos asked.

Ruby scratched the back of her head and looked down at this. "Okay, so that's the tone we're going for, got it." She said.

"Ruby, Kratos, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you two did last night is exactly what being a Huntress or Huntsman is all about. You recognized a threat. You took action. And you did the very best you could." Ironwood commended them.

"Thank you, sir." They said together.

"Now, the general here has already informed of the events that... transpired last night, but now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add." Ozpin asked.

"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" Glynda asked Ruby.

"Well, there was that guy with her that Kratos fought." Ruby said, looking to her pale friend.

"He called himself Dio. He had apparently attacked Bayonetta and Dante previously, although they managed to drive them off. But, other than the girl and that strange figure with him that kept reappearing and disappearing, he was alone. That's all I can say for certain." Kratos said, looking back to Ruby.

"Yeah. But as for the girl herself, I... I don't know. She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her Semblance, though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked." Ruby explained.

"Save for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby." Glynda surmised.

"Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone." Ironwood countered.

"Wait. You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby asked.

"It's possible. But we still lack the required evidence to link the two together." Ozpin explained.

"Wait. I seem to remember that Dio character speaking of some organization in the Southeast of the kingdom he works for." Kratos added.

"Interesting. Thank you for your cooperation, Kratos. You as well, Ruby. Why don't you go and spend some time with your teams? You both have a big day ahead of you." Ozpin said.

"Of course. Thank you headmaster." Kratos said politely and bowed his head again, before leaving.

"Any time." Ruby said, leaving.

"And Miss Rose, Mister Nikos, please try and be ... discreet about this matter." Ozpin added.

"Yes sir." They said together.

* * *

The door to Team RWBY's dorm room opened, revealing the remainders of Teams RWBY and SCRN inside. Yang, Weiss, Bayonetta and Blake zoomed over to Ruby and Kratos as they stepped into the dorm, while they calm and collected Dante and Ryu simply turned their attention to their friend and teammate walked into the room.

"What happened?" Yang asked.

"You're not in trouble, are you?" Bayonetta asked worriedly.

"Uh... well, um..." Ruby said, laughing nervously.

* * *

The scene cut back to Ozpin's office. "Well there we have it. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way.

Glynda growled in frustration. "Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!" She started.

"Glynda!" Ozpin snapped, cutting her off from swearing.

"Well, he does." She said.

"She's right. As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale. Beyond Beacon. And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic." Ozpin explained wisely.

"I have served you faithfully for years... but if you mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defenses, and wait—!" Ironwood started.

Ozpin abruptly stood up from his chair "It is not! You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts?" He asked.

* * *

The scene cut back to Team RWBY's dorm. "That was a risky move." Weiss asked.

"Come on, sis. What's life without a little risk?" Dante asked.

"Safe." She responded.

"You mean boring." Dante countered.

"Actually, I think you handled it well." Blake said.

"I hope so." Ruby said.

"I'm sure everything will be alright, Ruby." Yang said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It always does, we're just lucky like that." Bayonetta said.

"You think?" Ruby asked.

"I know." Bayonetta said with a smile, getting a small one from Ruby, but she still seemed a bit down.

"Oh, I know what will cheer you up!" Yang said, producing a cylindrical package the length of her forearm.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us. I thought we could open it together!" Yang said.

"Ooooh! Something from home!" Ruby squealed excitedly, zooming over to Yang and wrapping herself around Yang, trying to take the cylinder from her. The package opened, and another cylinder, hairy and black, fell out onto the floor and started to shake. The object suddenly transformed into a corgi. Teams RWBY and SCRN leaned in, staring at it.

The animal barked twice. While Weiss and Blake reacted with great shock, Ruby, Bayonetta and Yang react excitedly, as the three boys in the room were left dumbfounded the dog fit in such a small parcel.

Ruby shouted in joy as she jumped into the air. "Zwei!" She cheered as she posed, while still airborne, was depicted among a changing blue background and four shots of the dog, two full body shots and two headshots.

"He sent a dog?" Blake asked in horror.

"In the mail?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Oh, he does stuff like this all the time!" Yang said as Ruby held the dog and giggled as he licked her face, Bayonetta petting his head.

Blake disappeared, shown now to be on Ruby's bunk. "Your father or your dog?" She asked.

"What the?! How the?!" Ryu asked, pointing to her current position from where she stood. Even he couldn't see when she moved so quick.

"A dog, huh? We always wanted on, but dear old dad said they were nothing but mangy, filthy animals he'd never allow in the mansion." Dante said, before smirking. "I hope he enjoyed his father's day gift." He said.

The Schnee Mansion, on Father's day after Dante and Weiss left...

"DANTEEEEE!" Jacques shouted as the half dozen Puli puppies charged around his office, rolling on the carpet, biting and tearing at pillows on the chairs in front of his desk and one of them even peeing on the desk itself.

Back to them...

"Dogs are useful companions. Both my clan and my old enemy clan used to use ninja wolves that could use swords and throw kunai." Ryu remembered.

"Are you telling me that this mangy..." Weiss started angrily, looking at the dog.

"Weiss. You are about to cross some lines and I won't be responsible for my actions." Bayonetta said, pulling out her pistols.

The Ice Queen ignored this, however. "drooling... mutt..." She continued.

"That does it. Ruby, you'll have to find someone else with a W in their name." Bayonetta said, aiming at Weiss.

is going to wiv wif us foweva? Oh, yes he is, yes he is! Oh, isn't he adorable!" The heiress finished, completely breaking down into baby talk as she loved on the corgi.

"Oh... Fair enough." Bayonetta said, putting away her guns.

"Please keep it away from my belongings." Blake said.

"What's the matter, Blake-y? Is the kitty afraid of the dog?" Dante teased, Blake hissing at him and raising her hand to claw him like a cat.

"Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?" Glynda announced over the intercom.

"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for the week." Weiss asked.

Ruby set Zwei down and he walked over to Blake, still on the top bunk and barked as she aimed her claws at the corgi instead of Dante.

"Look, there's a letter!" Yang said as Zwei arrived in front of her. "Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang." She read, tipping the parcel upside down. Dozens of cans of dog food spilled out of the small package, piling up around Zwei.

"What is he supposed to do with that?" Weiss asked. A can opener fell from the package, bouncing off Zwei's head.

"Well, that settles it! Come on girls, Zwei will be here when we get back!" Yang said.

"Did she just imply the corgi could use a can opener?" Ryu asked.

"Wouldn't be as surprising as wolves with swords." Kratos said, walking out of the room.

"Zwei's an amazing dog. You'd have an easier time counting the things he CAN'T do." Bayonetta said, petting the dog's head as she walked past.

"Oh, I'll miss you so much, we're going to be best friends, I can't wait to see you." Weiss said to Zwei as she left, her speech deteriorating into incomprehensible baby talk, petting him until she had to back away too far for her arms to reach him.

Meanwhile, Blake jumped down from Ruby's bunk and jumped across the table, avoiding Zwei.

Ruby stared at Zwei for a moment, before smiling sneakily.

* * *

Ruby was wearing a large backpack as she entered the auditorium with other students. She then put it down next to other students luggage before rejoining her team, who were standing in front of Team JNPR.

"Quiet! Quiet please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin." Glynda announced.

"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression." Ozpin started.

"Dad probably would've been on that side." Dante whispered to Weiss, who shushed him, but couldn't help letting out a quiet giggle.

"And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color." Ozpin continued, Ruby smiling at this. "It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." Ozpin finally finished and stepped away as the students all began to file out of the amphitheater.

"I relish the challenge!" Kratos said confidently.

"Where was the challenge? The being safe part, or the part where we're being chaperoned?" Ryu asked.

"You ruin everything." Kratos said, deflating.

"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a couple of Huntsmen working in the southeast!" Ruby said.

"Hopefully we can find two different Huntsman going to the southeast." Bayonetta said.

"Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!" Yang said.

"That's one of the best things I've ever heard you say." Ryu said.

"What about my puns?" She asked.

"I said best things, not worst things." He said, earning a playful punch in the shoulder.

"Let's check 'search and destroy!'" Weiss suggested.

"Good thinking, sis. Just about everywhere needs some Grimm booted out. The southeast is no exception." Dante said as Teams RWBY and SCRN approached a hologram screen.

"As always." She said proudly.

"Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs two teams to get the Grimm cleared out!" Ruby said.

"Well, it's in the southeast!" Blake said.

"Sounds perfect!" Yang said.

Ruby and Dante selected it and typed in their team names. However, the screen said that first years were not allowed to take this mission. "Wonderful!" Weiss said angrily and sarcastically.

"Any other ideas?" Blake asked.

"Sneak in on a Pelican passing over the area, ninja style." Ryu offered.

"What if no Pelicans are passing over the area?" Kratos asked.

"We mail ourselves there!" Ruby said.

"Well, that's one option." Ozpin said from off-screen as he suddenly appeared. "Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that you four will make your way there no matter which job you choose."

Team SCRN, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all glared at Ruby, who nervously rubbed her head. "Whatever makes you say that?" She asked.

"I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a hideout in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago." He asked.

"Um... well..." Ruby started.

"Have you been to a lot of night clubs lately? They'll do anything lately. I remember once I went to a place that sprayed blood from the sprinkler system." Bayonetta said, shuddering at the memory. "That's why Yang's the clubber in the family and I just stay home like the good twin." She said.

Ruby coughed at this. "Liar!" She said, coughing again, Bayonetta glaring at her again.

Ozpin rolled his eyes at this before continuing. "I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" He asked, selecting some things on his scroll, and the hologram screen making a noise.

"Thanks, headman. We'll have an evil organization wrapped up for you by the end of the week." Dante said.

"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor." Ruby said.

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsmen at all times, and do exactly as they say. They will be leading you on this mission, and they can have you sent back to Beacon, if they find your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck." He said.

* * *

Teams RWBY and SCRN have left the auditorium and were on their way to the airships that would take them to Quadrant 5. "That wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang grumbled

"But it's the truth." Blake said.

"Having second thoughts, sis? I thought you were braver than that." Bayonetta smirked.

"Ooh, that sounds like a challenge! If it is, you better be ready to compete!" Yang countered.

"It's gonna to be tough, but I know we can do it!" Ruby said confidently.

A student ran past the team. "Hey! Team CFVY is back!" He called out as he and other Beacon students gathered around to witness the return of Team CFVY.

Blake went up to Velvet Scarlatina. "Velvet? Are you okay?" Blake asked.

"I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." The bunny faunus explained, gesturing to her hulking teammate who walked past her.

"He is a formidable warrior. As is the rest of your team. I'm amazed you ere gone as long as you were." Kratos said.

"Exactly. Your mission was supposed to end a week ago! What happened?" Weiss asked

"Nothing happened. It was just ... there were just so many..." She said, shaking her head, before looking up and noticing Team RWBY's worried expressions. "Oh, but don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing Huntsmen, so you should be fine." She assured them.

"Right." Yang agreed.

"I should go. Be safe, okay?" She said as she went after her team.

"Well, that's reassuring." Bayonetta said.

"We can do this. We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now." Ruby said.

"Right." Blake agreed.

"Besides, it won't only be us out there! We'll be fighting alongside a pair of genuine Huntsmen!" Ruby said excitedly.

"They'd better make sure that we don't show them up." Bayonetta said.

"Yeah!" Yang agreed.

The scene immediately cut to our two teams staring with various stunned expressions, having just discovered who RWBY will be shadowing.

"Why, hello Team RWBY! Who's ready to fight for their lives?" Oobleck asked eagerly. "Team SCRN, your Huntsman will be along shortly." He explained.

"Oh, great. Then who are we getting, Port?" Dante said, annoyed.

"If that happens, I'm stabbing you for saying that." Ryu added.

"I'll stab myself." Dante asked.

"Then who are we getting?" Kratos demanded.

"If they got Oobleck, I doubt we're getting much better. Probably someone who will freeze at the sight of a Grimm." Bayonetta ranted.

 **"I never freeze."** A voice rang out from nowhere, our heroes looking to the side to find the source of this new voice.


	21. Ever Wonder Why We're Here?

"Oh, my god! It's the Black Panther! He's the king of a nation that's trying to become a small kingdom and he's like one of the best, most famous hunters ever! And he's one of the only faunus rulers of an entire nation outside of menagerie." Ruby screamed in delight as a dark-skinned man with short black hair and a beard that connected to his hair, with a pair of panther-like ears atop his head walked up to them in an incredibly sleek black and silver-looking suit that appeared to be leather from the look of it, but in reality, was MUCH better. This was T'Challa, as Ruby had said, a very famous huntsman and king of a small nation outside the borders of Vaccuo that people believe has the potential to become a new kingdom. But in reality, it already was its own kingdom far more advanced than even Atlas with highly advanced weaponry and types of dust and metals found exclusively in that region, allowing them to develop and advance far more than Atlas could ever hope, much to the jealousy of Ironwood. He typically stays in his rather secluded kingdom, but he is also a member of Ozpin's secret faction and answers the call when Ozpin needs him. This was one such time.

"Yes. thank you for the introduction, young lady." He said, to which Ruby covered her face and mumbled bashfully and incoherently. "So, this is Team SCRN. I've seen and heard a great deal about you from Ozpin. I look forward to seeing what you are capable of on this mission. But don't think for a moment that because 2 huntmen are here, you can relax. I expect to see more from you than anything you've ever shown here at Beacon. And if you fall behind, you're on your own. Remember..." He said, his suit almost magically creating a mask/helmet that gave him the intimidating face that rivaled a snarling panther in ferocity. "Panthers aren't pack hunters and if the cubs can't manage to keep themselves alive, they're abandoned and left for dead." He said ominously, heading to the airship.

"Well, that's quite the pep talk." Ryu said.

"I like this guy." Kratos said with a smirk.

"We're definitely the lucky team in this situation." Dante agreed.

"Sorry, sisters. I honestly feel bad for you." Bayonetta said to her sisters.

"So do we..." Yang groaned as they looked at Oobleck, who was looking through a list.

"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a pair of Huntsmen on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And..." Oobleck explained, talking fast, per the norm, as he paces in front of the students, before zooming up right to Weiss' face. "It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!" He explained, quickly backing away.

Weiss looked over at Blake, who was equally disturbed. "Uh..." She said, unsure of what else to say.

"Professor requires a PhD, too. Still nothing to sneeze at." Dante said.

Oobleck narrowed his eyes at the male Schnee. "Yeees, well... Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind-!" He started, then as an afterthought to clarify: "...schedule!" He finished, zipping off to the airship docked farther ahead in a second.

Ruby, despite the disappointment of having to follow Oobleck, tried to stay positive and upbeat. "Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck-" She started, before suddenly becoming as depressed as her team halfway through. "Okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse." She said.

"Save the world?" Nora said from off-screen, the two teams turning around to see Nora and team JNPR approaching. "You're going on world-saving missions without us? I'm hurt... sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault, though, Ren..." Nora said, being dramatic up to the point of questioning her hunger. Ren, for his part, simply crossed his arms and turning away.

Ryu chuckled at this, walking up and pulling Nora into a hug. "Sorry, Nora. We couldn't manage to bring you guys along this time, but don't worry. There will be plenty of chances for us to go on world-saving missions in the future... together." He said with a smile.

"Aww, my noble and honorable ninja!" She laughed, the two sharing a quick kiss.

Jaune cleared his throat at this. That mission of yours sure sounds exciting. Where ya going?" He asked.

"Oh, just outside the kingdom..." Ruby asked.

"Hey! So are we!" Nora said.

"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha explained.

"Good. I'm sure it will be a great chance for all of you to get stronger and work on your skills." Kratos said.

"We set out tomorrow." Ren explained.

"Be sure to pick us up some souvenirs, then." He said.

"Then you can party with us tonight!" Neptune said from off-screen as he and Sun approached the two groups. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." He explained.

Jaune was awestruck, to which Kratos scoffed. "They're junior badges. They have no real authority. Don't get so excited over petty things, Jaune." He said.

"R-right... sorry." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

Dante chuckled at this. "Well, well, Kratos. Of all the people I'd expect to hear good advice from, you weren't too high on the list before this." He said. (Too bad he can't see the new God of War game.)

"Because you never listen to my advice." Kratos countered.

"Oh, burn!" Weiss said, leaning in towards Dante, everyone looking at her like crazy. "What? That was a burn, wasn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah, but... never do that again. You doing it just seems wrong for some reason." Blake said, to which Weiss pouted.

"Those blessed with status can't be blessed in the ways of the street, my dear." Bayonetta said to Weiss, before looking at Dante. "But she was right, that was quite the burn." She said with a smirk.

"Yep. Can't follow you on this one, guys. We'd normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know... normal." Sun said.

"Fine with us. I doubt throwing banana peels will be enough to stop our enemies this time." Kratos said with a smirk.

"Well-" Ruby started, before Oobleck and T'Challa appeared from the airship to call to Teams RWBY and SCRN, who are embarrassed:

"Four minutes, children!" Oobleck called before he went back inside.

"The cubs are about to be left behind!" Black Panther added, heading back in the ship as well as their friends smiled awkwardly at the two teams.

"Well, uh..." Ruby said, unsure of what to say, throwing a thumbs-up instead. "Wish us luck!" She said. With that, the friends disbanded, either back to Beacon or towards their mission.

* * *

Cut to the airship flying over buildings and streets amid deafening turbines. Team SCRN were standing near their appointed Huntsman. "Ozpin's told me nothing but good things about you. I'm eager to see what you can do out here." T'Challa said to them.

"We always were good at putting on a show." Dante said.

"We are top students of any grade at Beacon, after all." Bayonetta added.

"If Ozpin has told you everything, you should already know how strong we are." Ryu said.

"We'll show you skills rivaling any huntsman." Kratos said.

Black Panther chuckled at this. "Good. And Ozpin has told me all the stories about you he knows, but I suspect you have your own stories I'd like to hear sometime. when we have some time away from the other group. I trust your stories will be... OTHERWORLDLY..." He said, the 4 reincarnated warriors instantly understanding what he meant. He knew they weren't originally born to this world. And since he learned it from their headmaster, Ozpin knew it, too.

Meanwhile, team RWBY was having a conversation with their own Huntsman. "I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter." Yang said to Oobleck.

"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles." He explained.

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Those are truffles." Blake corrected, leaning over.

"Like the sprout?" Ruby asked again, still scratching her head in befuddlement.

"Those are Brussels." Yang corrected this time, also leaning over.

"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!" Oobleck continued.

"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked.

"Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys, if I were to wager." Oobleck explained, turning sharply on Weiss.

"And that means..?" Weiss asked again.

"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!" Oobleck explained once more.

"Mountain Glenn." Ruby said.

"That's right! It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city." Yang explained.

"Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder." Oobleck said ominously.

"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake realized

"Precisely!" Oobleck confirmed, adjusting his glasses and smiling

* * *

The airship came in over a spot of street amidst the ruined buildings and structures of the ruined area. It hovered right above the ground as Teams RWBY and SCRN, along with their huntsmen all jump out of the craft and landing in badass poses with weapons drawn, minus the doctor, who simply holds his coffee canister, before the ship flew away from the destruction.

Oobleck called the attention of RWBY. "Ladies! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?" He asked, to which the girls nodded.

"That goes double for your team doing as I say. If there are as many Grimm in this area as we believe, along with a terrorist group, if you mess up even once, you're dead." T'Challa added, to which Team SCRN nodded as well.

"It takes a lot to put us down, we'll be fine." Kratos said.

"But still, we'll do as you say and show you exactly what we''re capable of." Dante said.

"Good." Black Panther acknowledged, nodding in approval.

Oobleck also gave Dante a smile and nod despite not being his team's appointed Huntsman, but he suddenly looked at Ruby, startling her. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school." He said.

"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't." Ruby said, trying to worm her way out of the conversation.

"She's hiding something." Bayonetta said to Yang, both of them aware of when their little sister tries to get out of getting in trouble.

"Definitely." Yang agreed.

Oobleck, however, had yet to reach that conclusion. "She's not wrong..." To himself "Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return." He instructed.

"But I, well uh-" Ruby tried to argue.

"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with..." He started, but stopped as the bag's zipper opened and out popped Zwei's head, causing everyone to stare at the uninvited guest.

"Get back in the bag." Ruby whispered to her dog through the side of her mouth, but Zwei merely barked in response.

"Too late, RWBY. The dog's out of the bag." Bayonetta said, pulling the dog from the bad, the corgi licking her face in response.

"Lucky." Dante said, glaring at the dog licking his girlfriend.

"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog?" Oobleck said slowly and seemingly angrily.

"I, uh..." Ruby started nervously.

"Genius!" He said suddenly, backing away long enough for Ruby to give a confused shrug before speeding past and snatching the pet away from Bayonetta, who tumbled to the ground as Oobleck spun Zwei in the air. "Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" He explained as Zwei barked happily in his hands.

"Animals are indeed very helpful to Huntsmen. In our nation, we've been training rhinos for combat against the Grimm. I've even seen one bowl over a Deathstalker." T'Challa added, scratching Zwei's head.

"I'm a genius!" Ruby stated proudly after being stunned for the unexpected reaction, to which Weiss and both her sisters facepalmed.

"So, what are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked.

"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" He said, suddenly letting go of Zwei, who stayed suspended in the air for less than a second before dropping down, as Oobleck put his hands behind his back for a serious pose. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm." He said dramatically.

"PhD hard at work there." Dante said, looking back at Oobleck in confusion with the rest of his team.

"Uh, what?" Ruby asked, just as confused as her friends and teammates for the redundancy.

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." Ooblecked clarified.

"What?!" Yang asked as she turned to look like the other students at the lone Beowolf wandering into the street, joining them in unleashing their weapons.

"Stop!" Oobleck and T'Challa said.

"Huh?" Blake asked, lowering her Gambol Shroud like everyone else to listen.

"Now is not the time for fighting. Now is the time for hunting." Black Panther explained.

"If we are hunting, now is the best time to make the kill, while we have a shot and the element of surprise." Kratos said.

"Not just yet, Mr. Nikos! There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent." Oobleck elaborated.

"Sound logic." Ryu agreed.

"So... What now?" Ruby asked.

"As our royal companion said, now is the time to hunt. We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." Oobleck explained.

"How long do we wait?" Blake asked.

"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months - and there's the whole pack." Oobleck said, his tone quickly changing as his sudden realization was true: 20 Beowolves were already following the first.

"What?" Weiss asked in surprise.

"And now they've seen us." Oobleck continued to state the obvious.

"What?!" Weiss asked louder, even more shocked than before.

"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Oobleck shouted, coming right up to Weiss' ear as he shouted.

"Stop screaming at my sister." Dante said, pushing the two apart.

"That PhD must've been in the study of the obvious." Bayonetta said.

"I take it tracking them is out of the question?" Ruby asked.

"An accurate assumption, yes." Oobleck confirmed.

"What's the plan, then?" Yang asked.

The teams turned to their respective Huntsman as the creatures closed in, black bars converging dramatically over the approaching animals. "Now is not the time for hunting. Now is the time for fighting." T'Challa said, Team SCRN nodding and rushing into the fray.

Team RWBY waited for Oobleck's answer. "Show me what you're capable of." He gave the answer.

"Cover your ears, Zwei!" The dog does so, curling up into a ball.

Black lines race across the screen as a single Beowolf and smiling Yang run towards one another, ending with the blonde knocking it out in one fiery punch as they pass. Several stop chasing after the party girl to focus on Blake, who stands and waits with hand on her hilt until one of the enemy swipes at her afterimage, the real deal slicing her would-be attacker in half before slashing through another and cutting down on one more.

Behind the Faunus, Weiss runs from several black-coated beasts before jumping in the air and taking one down with Myrtenaster. She dashes towards them with rapier held high and slays four of them in a straight line until she stops. A wave of Beowolves are converging on Ruby, but the scythe wielder shoots multiple bullets at the oncoming force... while Zwei is busy chasing his own tail. He stops to watch his owner fire forward and, after a dramatic mid-air stare-off, cut the single remaining Grimm in two.

"Heh. Piece of cake!" Ruby said to Oobleck, lifting her weapon.

"Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?" Oobleck asked.

"We should split up to cover more ground. We'll check the Northern end of the city. You keep checking around the Southern area here." Black Panther suggested, his mask forming over his face again, starting to walk away from the group.

"Best of luck, sisters. Try to stay out of trouble." Bayonetta said, hugging her sisters.

"Good luck to you, too." Yang said.

"Be careful." Ruby said as they pulled away and she started walking off.

"Enjoy your time away with your huntsman, little brother." Weiss said, smirking a bit at Dante's annoyance, but it quickly disappeared as Dante gained his own smirk.

"Thanks, sis. Enjoy your time with the Doctor." He said, walking away, to which Weiss groaned at the reminder.

"Lucky... gets to hang out with a king while we're stuck with Oobleck." She grumbled.

"Keep your guard up and your eyes open. The Grimm are around every corner and our enemies could be as well." Ryu said.

"Sound advice. Thanks." Blake said.

"Keep track of the number of Grimm you kill. Losing team pays for the winning team's dinner." Kratos challenged.

"You're on!" Ruby accepted. And with that, the two teams split off, heading to different ends of the city.

* * *

Dante cleaved through a Creep with Rebellion, before looking back at Black Panther. "So, you know we've been reincarnated. How?" He asked.

"Because I was as well." T'Challa explained, using his claws to rip off an Ursa's head. "I was once the ruler of a nation on Earth known as Wakanda. I was a powerful leader under the same name and guise I use now. Unfortunately, one enemy was able to defeat me. I can only hope Wakanda survived the attack I did not. I was lucky enough to be reborn on remnant with a similar situation to the on I had on Earth, only my country now exports rare Dust instead of Vibrainium." He explained.

"And Ozpin knows that you and us are reincarnated warriors as well?" Ryu asked, shoving a Beowulf off of his scythe.

"Yes. Ozpin knows much about this world and most, if not all, reincarnated warriors who are reborn here. He tries to get to them first, but sadly, he's not always successful." Black Panther explained.

Bayonetta did a front flip combined with an axe kick to smash a Boarbetusk's head into the ground, finishing it with a round of bullets the eventually broke through the armor and a final bullet hit the pig monster's brain."I assume you're talking about Dio and the others from the docks we faced before?" She asked.

"Among some others, yes." T'Challa confirmed.

Kratos stabbed one of his blades into a beowulf's shoulder, grabbing either side of the wound and ripping the monster's chest open. "How does Ozpin know this? It's a secret we've kept hidden even from our families. And why didn't he say something if he knew?" He demanded.

"You should ask the Headmaster that yourself. There is a reason behind everything he does. As a fellow leader and secretive one at that, I can vouch for his actions. There's a lot he has to deal with and he plays everything close to the chest." Black Panther explained. "Now let me ask you something: You were all heroes in your old world and you had the chance to live normal, peaceful lives here on Remnant, but you once again chose the path of a warrior. Why?" He asked.

The four of them looked between each other, before nodding and looking back to the Huntsman. "Well, besides Ryu, we mostly fought for ourselves. We weren't trying to be heroes. We were just trying to get revenge against the beings that wronged us and keep ourselves alive. But now, we have a chance to do the right thing and fight for the right reasons. And all of us have people we want to protect." Dante explained, the other 3 nodding.

Black Panther looked between them for a few moments, before nodding in approval. "Excellent." He said. "It's getting late. We should regroup with Oobleck and Team RWBY before it gets dark." He said, the team nodding and following him back to the part of the city their friends and siblings were.

* * *

The scene changed to the view of another victory for RWBY and their mentor amid the noise of fired shots, but switched again to Oobleck and Yang away from the group.

"Tell me, Yang: Why did you choose this line of work?" He asked.

"Huh?" She asked, but under Oobleck's gaze, she answered. "Well, to fight monsters and save-" She started.

Oobleck cut her off at this. "No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress." He clarified.

Yang considered this, then answered. "The honest reason? I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?" She said, but then thought again. "Also, Cereza once saved Ruby and I from beowulves when we were barely 5. To be able to stand up to danger and fight monsters like that with no chance of winning, She was amazing and I wanted to be just like her. That's why we're so competitive, trying to stay ahead of each other." She said.

"I see." He said.

* * *

One claw-scratch transition later, Oobleck was sitting on a high windowsill writing in his journal while Weiss was fighting off Beowolves below.

"And you, Miss Schnee? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So... why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?" He asked.

After she impaled the last foe on her blade and dropeds the body, she answered. "It's exactly as you said: I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty. But, beyond that, my brother saved my whole family from the White Fang when we were younger. He showed me how brave and strong we Schnee's were and could be and I wanted to be strong like him." She explained.

"Interesting." Oobleck said, nodding.

* * *

Oobleck jumped down into the next scene, where Blake slashed a door down and released a swarm of small Nevermores from the building, which she back-flipped under before she shot them all with her blade's pistol form.

"And what about you, Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose." Oobleck asked as he examined the inside of the doorway.

"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption... Someone has to stop it." Blake explained.

"Very well. How?" Oobleck asked.

"I, Uh..." She started, but suddenly, she could not answer. She thought for a few moments, before finally coming up with an answer. "Maybe becoming well-known and showing people not all faunus are bad, or using my influence to spread goodwill towards the faunus. Like Kratos. He's famous and he's done lots of commercials about how people need to give the faunus a chance and treat them like any other person, now most of Mistral and many other places are giving faunus the respect they deserve. I admire him for that." She gave her answer.

Oobleck "Hmm'd" to himself, then dashed away, leaving Blake to bow her head in troubled thought.

* * *

Later, Ruby was using her weapon in the most practical fashion and lifting a whole turkey on the sharp end of her gun to tease a jumping and flipping Zwei with. That was, until she spotted her teacher watching, quickly sheathing Crescent Rose. "Sorry! Uh... Are we ready to keep going?" She asked.

"Nope! I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." Oobleck explained, throwing his bag over to Yang, who made a sound when she caught it. "You three, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those... creatures. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby." He instructed.

They started walking away from the rest of RWBY, who each looked at their leader, knowing what she'll be asked. As Oobleck and Ruby rounded the corner of a building, she saw something off-screen that left her in awe. "Whaaaa..." She said in amazement. We see the wide forest stretching below the ruin, and in the midst of it, a line of Goliaths was marching through the trees. "I've seen those before! They look awesome!" She says.

"Those, my dear girl, are more Grimm. Goliaths to be exact." He answered simply.

"I remember those! Team SCRN fought one during the initiation! It was way smaller than those, though..." She said as she stared at the lumbering mass of monsters in amazement and awe before pulling out her gun. "Let's kill them." She said.

"I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate Grimm of that size." Oobleck explained.

"But... What if they attack us?" Ruby asked.

"Fret not, Ruby; those Goliaths are not concerned with us. Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they have done one important thing: They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and that killing one human will only bring more." Oobleck explained wisely.

As he said this, one Goliath swiveled its thick neck to look at the figures watching their procession, eyes glowing as fiery red as any other Grimm. "Then why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?" She asked.

"Waiting." He said simply. As he said this, the Goliath turned its head forward again and moved on with its kin. Oobleck turned around and walked away as well, and Ruby put away her weapon, not moving.

"Doctor Oobleck?" She asked.

"Hmm?" He acknowledged.

"I was wondering..." She started.

He stopped walking and turned back to her. "Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" He asked.

"A-Actually, I was wondering... Why did you want to become a Huntsman?" She wondered.

"Look around and tell me what you see?" He asked rather than answering directly.

Ruby took a look around. "Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets..." She listed.

"I see lives that could have been saved." He explained as he continued walking with Ruby beside him and Zwei at their heels. "As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger." He continued, stopping for his final answer. "I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be." He said, before continued walking.

"Inspiring words." Black Panther said, dropping down beside them.

"Ahh, T'Challa! Was your group any more successful finding our group of ne'er-do-wells?" He asked.

"The who?" Ruby asked again.

"Sadly, no. Team SCRN and I were unable to come up with anything. But we'll start again first thing in the morning They should be regrouping with the others and preparing for bed now." He explained.

* * *

Back at the building, the team has done as instructed, building a fire in the center of the room and huddling around it or standing up.

"I can't believe we didn't find anything..." Yang groaned.

"Yeah. Besides the Grimm, it's like the city's empty." Bayonetta said as team SCRN entered the hideout.

"Nice to see you're all in one piece." Weiss said as they greeted their friends and/or siblings.

"Unharmed, but empty-handed." Kratos said.

"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side." Blake said.

"That's not what I meant." Weiss said off-topic.

"Huh?" everyone asked.

"Earlier, about... upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that." Weiss explained.

"Yeah... No, me too. I mean... I don't know." Yang agreed.

"I don't know, either. I know what I want to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time." Blake added.

"Oh, Oobleck hit you with the 'being a Huntsman' question, too?" Dante asked.

"Yeah. I told him it was to uphold the Schnee name, but... That isn't all." Weiss confirmed.

"Maybe this is supposed to be a guidance counseling mission for the Huntsmen everyone shadows as well." Bayonetta joked.

"Not likely. But whatever our reasons are, we can't lose focus of the reason we're on this mission." Ryu said.

"Yeah... Ryu's right, our reasons don't matter. We know why we're here. Right?" Yang asked. The girls merely stared in silence.

"Ah, wonderful; a textbook campfire!" Oobleck said as he suddenly came rushing into the room.

"Fire!" Ruby said happily, coming in behind Oobleck and immediately sitting next to the blaze alongside Zwei, Black Panther coming in shortly after her. "So... warm..." She said contently.

"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode." Oobleck explained.

"Fortunately, with more of you here, it'll shorten the amount of time each person has to be on watch and allow everyone more time to rest." T'Challa said.

"Any volunteers for first watch?" Oobleck asked.

"Yo." Ruby answered simply as she lifted an arm while still looking into the fire. Oobleck rushed off, and Ruby got up to go over to her lookout point.

"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?" Yang asked as her sister passed, stopping Ruby.

"Hmm... No, he didn't. Weird. Oh, well; good night, guys!" She said without a second carefree thought, she continued on her way.

"Hm... I guess Oobleck ran out of steam before he asked her." Bayonetta said.

"Yeah..." Yang said, disappointed in the lack of an answer. Blake was similarly troubled as she unrolled her mat, Weiss tried lying down but failed to sleep, Yang half-heatedly ate her dinner of bread rolls. Soon, all three Huntresses were on their backs around the fire, weapons within easy access, wondering why they are there.

Team SCRN, however, was surprisingly the more upbeat team, Bayonetta setting up her mat beside Yang and Dante doing the same beside Weiss, taking off his coat and putting it over his sister as she turned onto her side, apparently relaxing her and helping her get to sleep, Yang also calming down when she felt Bayonetta's arm up against hers. Kratos noticed Blake looking at him uneasily, but a nod from the former Spartan managed to calm the faunus and Ryu looked at a picture of Nora he had in his vambrace and looked up at the sky, imagining his girlfriend in the stars, as well as him and Ren, the closest thing he had to a brother. The team and smiled to themselves, knowing the reason they were here.

Ruby, meanwhile, was sitting in the vacant windowsill of the room as Zwei went over to her upon hearing the howling of Beowolves. She pet her pooch on the back. "Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow." She said as master and pet looked out into the rubble and stared in silence until the scene went dark.


	22. Taking the Offensive

General Ironwood was looking out from the landing docks of Beacon Academy to the city of Vale at night, a few airships hovering over the lit-up buildings. Walking up from behind him was Glynda Goodwitch.

"Trouble sleeping?" She asked.

Ironwood looked back at her. "Arm was acting up." He explained, gripping his shoulder with the other hand.

"Of course, so logically, you got out of bed, dressed yourself completely and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance." She said skeptically as she approached all the way to his side, then looked at him concerned. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I've trusted him for years. We both have. I just... I can't help but feel like he's keeping us in the dark." He explained.

"Don't be ridiculous! You know very well that we are not the ones in the dark." Glynda snapped.

Ironwood laughed humorously. "That makes it worse! I refuse to believe that a man that I've trusted for so long would act so... passively." He said.

Glynda put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "You're a good person, James. You've always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable. But it's high time you stopped talking about trust and started showing it." She reasoned, dropping her hand as they stared into the distance together. "Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack. And I think that's something worth remembering." She explained.

* * *

The full moon was shining over the ruined buildings of Mountain Glenn, and a lone Beowulf was searching through the rubble. It looked up briefly at the young girl who had it in her red cross-hair scope, but Ruby just lowered Crescent Rose and sighed in tiredness at she kept lookout over the destruction. The rest of her team was lying down on their sleeping mats around the fire with weapons nearby, Team SCRN not too far from them, Black Panther asleep in a dark corner of the room and Doctor Oobleck was higher up, slumped down against the wall next to the hole in the ceiling/floor.

The three members of RWBY had their eyes closed, but Yang was the first to stop pretending. "Blake, are you awake?" She asked.

"Yeah." The faunus confirmed.

"Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?" She asked again.

"Maybe he was just curious." Blake guessed.

"You think?" Yang wondered.

"No." Blake admitted.

"If I had to guess, they're testing our resolve or our motivation to do the right thing for the right reason..." Bayonetta said, having woken up due to the conversation.

"Doing the right thing... For the right reason..." Yang said unsurely. "Weiss, are you awake?" Yang now asked the heiress.

"Of course I'm awake! You two are talking. And I think he... When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a... moral gray area." Weiss explained.

"That's putting it lightly." Blake jabbed.

"Hey, you can't blame us that our dad's an asshole." Dante said.

"Which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it." She explained.

"That's sweet, sis. You're doing the right thing and sticking it to dad. Two for one." Dante said.

"It's... Really because of you, Dante... Ever since that day you saved us, you've gone from being... well, basically what Whitley is now..." Weiss started.

"Ouch!" Dante said, wincing slightly at being compared to their snobbish little brother.

"To being one of the bravest, strongest people I've ever known. That's another reason I want to be a Huntress. To be as brave and as strong as you." She said. Dante chuckled a bit at this. "Oh, what? Are you gonna mock me for sounding like some soap opera or TV drama?" She asked.

"No, it's just that I'm one of the reasons you wanted to be a Huntress. It's funny because you're one of the reasons I wanted to be one. That day, when that thug put that gun to Mom's head, I realized just how precious family was to me. You, Mom, Winter, even Dad and Whitley as much as I don't want to admit it. And I just couldn't stand the thought of losing you. So I wanted to be a Huntsman so I could protect the family from the White Fang or any other threat we or the people close to us might face. And of course save the people where I can. So as for who has the better reason, I guess you win that one." He said.

Weiss was a bit shocked at this, but smiled. "Yours is still a close second." She said.

"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone. I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I - how can I undo so many years of hate?" Blake wondered.

"The first thing you should do is stop hiding your ears. Let the world know you're a faunus and show them all the good deeds you've done and can do in the future. Show them not all faunus are the monsters the White Fang makes them out to be." Kratos said.

Blake was shocked at this. "R-really? But... How can I be sure they'll see past my ears and won't just ignore all the good things I've done when they see I'm different?" Blake asked.

"I'm sure you'd figure it out. You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake." Yang said supportively.

"But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my Semblance! I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!" She cried.

Team SCRN thought for a moment, before Ryu spoke up. "Sometimes running is the best option. There are some battles you just can't win and running is the only way to save yourself or others. I can think of several situations where if I hadn't run that I, someone I cared about or an innocent person, would be dead. As for your Semblance, it's a good one. It saves you from taking a hit, which keeps you alive. And anything that can keep you alive in a battle is well worth using." He spoke up.

Blake was surprised at first, but then smiled. "I never thought of it before.

"At least you all have something that drives you. I've just kinda of always, gone with the flow, y'know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for? I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that." Yang explained.

"Truly, we are sisters." Bayonetta said with a nod.

"You're reason's good as any. No one has the right to judge your reason. And if they do, just give 'em that dreaded right hook. " Dante said.

Yang smiled a bit at the support, but sighed and looked to her younger sister on lookout. "I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today." Yang said.

"Yeah. She's a good kid." Bayonetta said, looking at her younger sister proudly.

"She's certainly impressive for a child her age. She's gonna go far." Dante said.

"Well, she's still just a kid." Weiss said.

"And for being younger, she's more developed than you are." Bayonetta said.

"Hey!" Weiss said, pouting.

"She's only two years younger. We're all kids." Blake explained.

"Well, not anymore. I mean, look where we are! In the middle of a warzone and armed to the teeth!" Yang said.

"We should all be used to this by now." Kratos said. "Some of us more than others..." He whispered to himself.

"It's the life we chose." Blake said.

"It's a job. We all had this romanticized vision of being Huntsmen and Huntresses in our heads! But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people! And whatever we want, will have to come second." Weiss said.

The apparently-sleeping Oobleck had a small smile when she finished. And from his own spot, Black Panther smiled and nodded as well. "Their hearts are in the right place." He said.

* * *

Yang had taken up watch, allowing for Ruby and Zwei to sleep on the sleeping bag Yang had been lying on. Zwei suddenly woke and stood up, causing Ruby to wake up.

"Huh? Zwei, it's late. Go back to bed." She said tiredly, about to take her own advice, but Zwei ran off, waking up Bayonetta as well. "Zwei! Zwei! Ugh!" Ruby groaned, wandering out of the building, looking for Zwei.

"Ugh. That dog. Sometimes I swear he tries to make our lives harder." Bayonetta said, hurrying after her sister and dog.

"Zwei! Zwei, where are you? Zwei! Huh?" Ruby asked, turning as she heard something, spotting Zwei urinating on some ruins. "Zwei, this is a wasteland! You literally could have done that anywhere!" She said.

"At least he didn't do it in anyone's bed this time." Bayonetta said, remembering a time when she had to share a bed with Yang because Zwei peed on her bed.

Suddenly, Zwei barked at something! "What was that?" A voice was heard.

Having heard the new arrival, Ruby picked up Zwei and hid behind some ruins, peeking out two see two White Fang members patrolling the area. "What was what?" White Fang Grunt #2 asked.

"I thought I heard a Beowolf or something." WF Guard #1 explained.

"Hmph. Let's just finish our patrol and get back to base. This place gives me the creeps." WF Guard #2 said.

"This is perfect. We have to follow them. We'll never get a better chance." Bayonetta said.

"Right!" Ruby agreed.

As the WF Guards walked away, Ruby and Zwei snuck around in the background, following them. They eventually reached a ruined building with a pair of metal doors, Ruby almost walking out into plain sight, before Bayonetta pulled her back behind the corner she hid behind, holding Zwei out to watch them.

"Did they go in yet? One bark means yes." Ruby whispered to the corgi. The sound of the door closing echoed out Zwei barking "Oh! This is it! This is it!" She said excitedly

"Have I ever told you how much I love you, Zwei?" Bayonetta said in a babying tone, petting the dog as Ruby brought out her scroll and trying to call her teammates. However, the screen said "Low Signal".

"Aw man! Come on, we gotta get the others!" She said.

"Right." The older sister said, the two of them and Zwei hurried off down the street. However, the asphalt beneath them suddenly sank before caving in. Bayonetta managed to jump to safety before the ground collapsed while Ruby grabbed onto a ledge and caught Zwei. "Ruby!" She called, running to the edge. She grabbed Zwei as Ruby lifted him to her and tossed him up out of the hole and reached back for Ruby. However, She was suddenly kicked in the side and knocked away by a smirking Dio.

"Bayonetta!" Ruby cried before the ledge she was holding onto broke off and she fell.

Dio watched Ruby fall with a malicious grin, knowing she'd fallen in the worst place possible, before turning back to Bayonetta as she got back to her feet. She looked down at the hole Ruby had fallen into in shock and worry, before glaring at... "Dio!" She snapped.

"Ahh, the lovely Bayonetta. I don't believe we finished our business from last time." He said, walking towards her.

"Oh, don't worry! We'll finish it this time!" Bayonetta snapped, looking down at Zwei as he ran to her side, turning to Dio and barking angrily. "Zwei, go! Get the others!" She snapped, Zwei barking in confirmation and rushing off.

"No, you don't, mongrel!" Dio snapped, pulling out a handful of knives from his coat and preparing to swing them at Zwei, before Bayonetta shot him in the head, staggering him back. He growled at this, but managed not to lose his composure. "Very well, if you're so eager to die first, I'll grant your wish." He said.

"You're about to wish you'd stayed in whatever hole you crawled out of!" Bayonetta snapped, readying her guns and glaring at him, but her eyes drifted back to the hole Ruby fell into. (Ruby...) She thought.

* * *

Ruby plummeted into a huge cave filled with ruined buildings, far below the surface. She landed on a building up against a cavern wall, and as she got up, a nearby door burst open to reveal two other WF Guards, one of whom was Perry.

"Freeze!" He snapped

"Where did she come from?" WF Guard #3 asked.

As the WF Guards walked forward, Ruby backed away only to end up on the very edge of the platform. "You're a long way from home, little girl." Perry said.

Ruby reached back for her scythe, only to realize that she didn't have it. Both guards approached her, and one of them grabbed her arm. "Hey! Hands off!" She snapped, jerking her arm out of the guard's hand and started punching him. It has very little effect, and he punched her in the face hard enough to knock her down.

"The boss is gonna want to see this one..." WF Guard #3 said as he kicked her in the head hard enough to knock her out.

* * *

Yang finished her guard shift and turned to Weiss, who was on next shift. "Hey Weiss, it's your..." She said, before noticing her sisters missing. "Ruby? Bayo? Hey, where's Ruby and Bayonetta?" She asked.

"What?" Oobleck asked as everyone got up.

"They're gone?" Black Panther asked.

Suddenly, Zwei came running into the room, barking. "Zwei?" Yang asked.

"What's going on?" Blake asked.

"Grab your weapons! Your leader may be in trouble." Oobleck ordered.

"Bayonetta may also be in danger. Let's get ready to move." T'Challa said as they got up.

"Those two are always getting themselves in trouble." Dante said with a sigh, but was secretly worried about Bayonetta. He knew at least one of the creeps they fought at the docks was here and if it was Dio, he already knew how that fight played out once.

* * *

Ruby awoke to the two WF Guards who caught her dragging her by both arms through the underground city. All around her, White Fang members were at work, doing various things such as piloting a Paladin to carry large shipping containers. There was a loud sound nearby as one of the White Fang members dropped a large device.

"Hey, be careful! What are you trying to do, blow us to the moon?" WF Guard #4 snapped.

"Sorry sir!" WF Guard #5 apologized.

"Hey boss! Found something you might want to see!" Perry called.

"Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day." Roman called from inside of a railcar.

"Uh, it's a little girl?" Perry said unsurely.

Roman leaned out through the doorway and saw Ruby. "That would be bad." He said.

* * *

Dio summoned The World and sent it at Bayonetta, throwing a haymaker at the former Umbran Witch, but she jumped over the golden apparition. Dio threw some knives at her as soon as she was in the air, but she activated her Semblance, stopping them in place and doing a few flips in mid-air while unloading her guns, putting a few holes in The World's back and shooting the knives out of the air, the damage on the gold creature reflecting on Dio, who growled in rage. "You're trying my patience, Witch! Every moment you resist is another second I'll grind you beneath my heel as you beg for death!" He snapped, The World vanishing as Dio rushed in more knives ready in his hand as he slashed at Bayonetta, who dodged every attack.

"You couldn't do that last time and you won't this time," Bayonetta said, jumping back to dodge on more slash, deploying Lt. Kilgore, "Especially not when you piss me off and make my sister fall in a pit!" She snapped, landing several brutal hits on the criminal in front of her. He managed to summon The World and catch one of the massive tonfas, but Bayonetta used the other one to blast him point blank in the chest with a rocket, sending him flying back.

He got up, glaring at her furiously, pulling out a total of 29 knives, 14 in his left and 15 in his right. "This ends here, you bitch! The-" He started.

"Not this time!" Bayonetta said, firing both rockets into the ground in front of her twice, shattering the ground and sending up dozens of small rocks as and pieces of concrete into the air in front of her.

"World!" Dio finished, stopping time and flinging the knives, all of them stopping a few feet in front of her... but each one's path was blocked by a rock or piece of debris. "I'll give you credit, you're certainly better prepared than last time, but don't think such a simple trick will save you!" Dio snapped, readying one more knife and summoning The World. Time resumed and all the knives hit the rocks, bouncing off the rocks and clattering harmlessly to the ground. "One more for the road!" He snapped, flinging his final knife and sending The World after her. She shot the knife out of the air and managed to dodge or block the attacks from The World, but it suddenly vanished and Dio hit her with a flying kick to the chest, launching her back.

Bayonetta landed on her feet and staggered back a few steps, both of them slightly worn, glaring at the monster while he smirked at her, summoning The World and having it rush at her. She prepared to defend herself, before hearing barking, turning to see Zwei leading Oobleck, Black Panther, Team SCRN and Ruby's teammates to the place Bayonetta and Dio were fighting, T'Challa creating an energy spear from nowhere and flinging it at the world, the creature turning just in time to see it and lean JUST enough out of the way to avoid a fatal blow, the spear still deeply cutting the monster's cheek, the damage reflecting back on Dio. "Damn you all! Still, it's too late! You'll never be able to stop our plan now!" He snapped, jumping into the hole.

"Bayo! Are you okay?!" Yang asked, running up to her twin and hugging her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for showing up when you did." Bayonetta said.

"Good to see you're still doing okay." Dante said as they walked up.

"I'm doing okay, but Ruby..." She said, looking into hole that Ruby fell into, and Yang spotted Crescent Rose next to the hole.

"Ruby's scythe!" Yang said.

"Oh no." Blake said worriedly.

"Ruby's useless without her weapon..." Kratos said with concern.

"Do you think she fell?" Weiss asked.

"She must've..." Ryu said.

"Fell?" Oobleck asked, looking up.

"Down there." Weiss said, pointing to the hole.

"The caves..." T'Challa said, realizing it along with Oobleck.

"Oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE!" Oobleck exclaimed, looking down at the hole.

"What is it?" Blake asked.

"How could I be so stupid?!" Oobleck said, mentally kicking himself.

"Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong?" Yang asked.

"Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people! Working people commuting to the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!" He explained.

"Thanks for the history lesson, but could you get to the point?!" Bayonetta snapped.

"Yeah, Doc, what are you saying?" Yang asked.

"My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!" Oobleck explained.

"Underground... You mean-?" Kratos started.

"They've been working in caves?" Blake asked.

"No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation; the city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start! As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city! In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they had cut themselves off from the surface!" Oobleck explained.

"Working underground... That's certainly a way to avoid detection." Ryu said, remembering all of his adventures in his previous life all taking him underground at some point.

"An underground village?" Yang asked.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until... an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb. If Ruby is down there," Oobleck started, deploying his weapon. "We must find her..." He finished.

"They wanna hide in the ground like bugs, huh? Well that's fine, because here come the exterminators." Dante said.


	23. The Crazy Train

Ruby was thrown across the floor by a laughing Roman. "Wow! You are much more manageable without that oversized gardening tool of yours." He said. Ruby got up and charged at Roman, which he simply sidestepped, sending Ruby stumbling across the floor. "Oh man. You know, Perry, I really did need this." Roman said, Perry raising his thumb in agreement as Roman laughed. He walked over to Ruby and aimed Melodic Cudgel at her. "But seriously. How'd you find this place, Red?" He asked.

Ruby growled at this and used her Semblance to escape Roman and started running for an exit. "Whoa!" Roman shouted in surprise, looking around, briefly startled, before smiling as he stood up, spinning Melodic Cudgel in his hands and aiming the handle at Ruby. He fired the handle, which doubled as a grappling hook, at Ruby, catching her by her hood and allowing Roman to pull her back. "I see you've got some tricks up your sleeve! Let me make this clear: We're not through here yet." He said threateningly. But suddenly, a massive explosion sounded, causing Roman to look up. "Oh, what the... Perry, if you and the boys could take care of that? Kinda in the middle of something." He said. Perry nodded and went off to investigate the explosion just as another one sounded. "WHAT is going on here?!" roman demanded, annoyed.

"The others!" Ruby whispered to herself hopefully.

A third explosion sounded and multiple White Fang members come running around the corner, some firing at an unknown enemy. Team SCRN, the remainder of Team RWBY, Zwei, T'Challa and Oobleck ran around the corner, much to Roman's annoyance. Ruby decided to take this moment to try and escape. She jumped on Roman's shoulders, pulled his hat down over his eyes, and then fled towards her friends. "Somebody kill her!" Roman snapped, readjusting his hat and glaring after Ruby. Roman and the White Fang members around him open fired on Ruby, which she dodged and weaved between.

Roman turned angrily to the White Fang member next to him. "Attach this cart and spread the word: We're starting the train." He ordered.

"But we're not finished!" The White Fang member said.

Roman pinned the White Fang member up against the wall with Melodic Cudgel. "Do it or you're finished!" He ordered once more.

The shot cut to Ruby fleeing, but screeched to a halt as she realized she was running towards a group of White Fang members. A huge explosion appeared behind the White Fang members, sending them flying and revealing Yang and Bayonetta with her rocket tonfas behind them.

"Ruby!" Yang said happily as Ruby jumped into her arms, Bayonetta hugging her sister as well.

"We got here as fast as we could! They didn't hurt you, did they?" Bayonetta asked.

"Please tell us you okay!" Weiss said worriedly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! But listen! Torchwick's got all kinds of weapons and robots down there." Ruby told everyone.

"What?!" Blake asked, handing Ruby her weapon.

"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars!" Ruby elaborated.

"Ahhhh, that's ridiculous. These tunnels are sealed, the tracks lead to a dead-end." Oobleck explained.

"Get to your places, we are leaving now!" Roman announced across a speaker system, the train starting to move towards the tunnels.

"Well, it sounds like they're going somewhere." Yang said.

"The must be playing at something else..." T'Challa said, trying to think of what the plan could be.

"That doesn't bode well. None of this does..." Ryu said.

"We need backup. Let me call Jaune." Ruby said, pulling out her scroll, but it still flashed "Low Signal". "I can't get through!" She said.

"So, what do we do?" Weiss asked.

"I believe we only have one option..." Oobleck said.

"We're stopping that train!" Ruby said determinedly, turning around to face the escaping locomotive.

"Aww, yeah! This party's getting crazy!" Dante said.

* * *

The scene cut to the train rushing through a tunnel, loaded with mechs. A White Fang member standing on the train heard a noise and looked outside the train to see rose petals. He brought out a communication device. "I think they're on the—" The White Fang member started, before falling down as Oobleck hit him in the head with his weapon.

* * *

The shot cut to Roman and Dio in the front of the train as a White Fang member rushed in. "Boss! They made it on the train!" He reported.

Roman sighed at the news. "Then grab some cargo and get them off the train!" He ordered. The White Fang member nodded and left to follow Roman's orders. "Man, animals, every one of them." Roman grumbled, Dio raising an eyebrow a bit.

"Roman-" He said awkwardly, darting his eyes towards the person next to the hat-wearing criminal.

Roman raised his own eyebrow, before looking awkwardly at the White Fang member sitting next to him. "Not you though, you're, heh, you're great." He said with a nervous chuckle. "Dio! Head up top and make sure they don't cut through the roof and drop in like a cheap cartoon!" He said.

"Very well." Dio said, heading towards the car's door and stepping out.

* * *

The scene cut to Teams RWBY and SCRN with T'Challa and Oobleck, standing on top of the train.

"Hurry, children! We must get to the front and stop this train!" Oobleck called.

"If this is there master plan, we cannot afford to fail. Hundreds of innocents could be in danger." T'Challa said.

"Don't have to tell us twice." Dante said.

"Err... Professor?" Weiss asked.

"Doctor..." Oobleck said in an annoyed tone as he leaned toward her.

"What's that?" Weiss asked, pointing down a hatch into the train.

"That my dear... appears to be a bomb." Oobleck knelt down to take a look at the strange device.

Teams RWBY and SCRN all cringed away from the hatch. "I think a bomb warrants more of a reaction than THAT!" Kratos snapped at the Doctor.

"We've got baddies!" Ruby warned, pointing forward on the train, where dozens of White Fang members could be seen climbing onto the top of the train.

"Resistance should be expected." T'Challa said, readying his claws.

"Indeed! I didn't expect them to go—" Oobleck started, when suddenly, the bomb underneath them charged up and started beeping. "—easy on us." He said, standing up. "Time to go!" He said, everyone starting to move ahead. As Team RWBY started running away, Oobleck stopped Blake. "Blake! Detach the caboose! It will kill us all!" He ordered.

"On it." Blake acknowledged, jumping down onto the connectors and getting ready to cut the connection, but as she does, the connection came loose on its own. "Huh?" She said in confusion, before looking up at Oobleck. "It decoupled itself!" She reported.

"What?!" He asked in disbelief.

"I guess he really doesn't want us on this train." Yang said.

"No. We caught them by surprise. There's no way they could've planned for us getting on the train. This was part of the plan." T'Challa said.

"Blowing up their own train was their big idea?!" Ryu asked in confusion.

"Not a great plan." Dante said.

As Oobleck looked back at the detached cart, it exploded in the tunnel. "That's not good..." He said.

"Err, neither is this!" Ruby said, standing next to another open hatch.

"Another bomb?!" Blake asked.

"Why are they destroying their own train!?" Bayonetta asked in confusion.

Oobleck looked around and ran to the next train car. "No. No. No." He said, starting to get an idea of what their enemy's goal was. He opened the hatch and looked in, finding that... "They ALL have bombs!" yelled back to Team RWBY.

The bomb under Team RWBY charged up and started beeping and the cart they're on detached itself, forcing Team RWBY to run to the next cart. "This doesn't make sense!" Yang said.

The White Fang members climbing the train could be seen again. "Get the humans!" One of them shouted.

The two teams jumped forward to attack the incoming White Fang members. Yang countered an attack from one thug, swept his feet from under him and gave him a wink before punching him down the hatch into the car below. Blake glared at her former brothers in arms before rushing forward, slashing a few in front of her out of the way, making them fall off the train with a few others she cut and backhanded one more, sending him flying off the train, screaming. Weiss glided forward, freezing several thugs in ice as she passed them and slashing down a few more. Finally, Ruby smiled and readied Crescent Rose, readying a bullet in the chamber and launching herself forward, a wide swing from her scythe launching about a dozen more White Fang members into the air.

Ryu ran forward, jumping into the air and sailing forwards at blinding speeds, cutting a few more thugs down with his Flying Swallow attack. A couple more thugs right in front of where he stopped attempted to attack him, but Dante slid in and knocked them back with his Stinger attack. Some more towards the back had the decent idea of staying back and shooting with their guns, but Bayonetta unleashed a wall on fire with both guns in her hand and one on her foot. A small group of about 8 now remained and charged forward as a group, but Kratos rushed at them, spinning and swinging his blades like a deadly tornado of slicing, sending them all flying.

Oobleck turned around and watched the detached train car explode. Only this time it created a hole allowing multiple types of Grimm to emerge. "Oh, dear..." He said, finally understanding as the horde of Grimm begin advancing quickly toward the runaway train. "He's leading Grimm to the city!" He called after the others.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!" Oobleck explained.

"That's insane!" Blake said.

"The White Fang only care about eliminating the humans. They'll do anything to accomplish that goal." T'Challa said.

Another train car detached itself. "We have to hurry!" Oobleck said, turning to Weiss, Blake, and Yang. "You three, go below and try to stop those bombs!" He ordered.

"What about us?" Ruby asked.

"We're going to stop this train." Oobleck explained.

"Yeah, I know. I said that earlier." She said, annoyed.

"They're deploying resistance! We're going to take it out!" T'Challa said.

"Our specialty!" Kratos said as the group moved forward. As the train continued towards it destination, White Fang members started to pilot multiple Atlesian Paladin-290s, and jumped to the top of the train. Ruby, Zwei, and Oobleck were shown running past Team SCRN and the White Fang members they were fighting.

"Up ahead!" Oobleck pointed out as a Paladin was seen charging towards them. "We got a problem!" He said.

Oobleck took a sip from his thermos before transforming it into its weapon mode, a small flame burning at its tip. Zwei barked, prompting he's ready for an attack. He jumped and flipped in the air, and Oobleck batted him, turning him into a small fireball. The Paladin was seen shooting, only for it to get knocked off the train by the combination attack. The Paladin tumbled on the train tracks, and exploded when it hit a barricade. Another Paladin appeared in front of Zwei, its guns aimed at him. Suddenly, multiple fire attacks hit it, and Oobleck swiftly knocked it off the train as well with an impressive spinning attack.

Another one rushed in and prepared to strike, but T'Challa rushed in and slashed through the mech's fist with his claws, made from the incredibly strong Dust in his country. "The strong shall hunt the weak!" He said, running between the mech's legs and slashing the back of its right knee, bringing it down to one knee, jumping on its back and ripping through it. "That is the law of nature!" He said, finally reaching the core and clawing it out, causing the mech to fall, the White Fang member crawling out, only to be knocked out by a final punch to the head from the royal Huntsman. "And my rule is law!" He said.

* * *

Down below, Yang, Weiss, and Blake entered the train car. "I guess this is what we trained for." Yang said.

Weiss reached into her pouch and gave Blake a magazine filled with Dust vials. "Here, this should help you." She offered.

Blake slid the mag into Gambol Shroud, and then the three of them charged forward. Suddenly, Neo dropped from the ceiling and blocked their path.

"You two go on ahead. This one's mine." Yang said.

Blake and Weiss proceeded forward. As Neo prepared for their attack, Yang fired a round to distract her, allowing Blake and Weiss to continue. Yang stepped forward toward her opponent, staring down as Neo gave a sinister smile. Yang tightened her fist, and threw a simple forward punch towards Neo's face, which was deflected with a white flash of unknown origin from Neo, causing Yang to stumble back. Neo opened her umbrella, and the fight began.

Yang dashed forwards, unleashing a flurry of several punches, resetting each time instead of redirecting her blows, as Neo simply dodged each attack, moving her body swiftly in order to avoid them in a very laid back, but extremely effective style. With every unsuccessful punch, elbow, and kick, Yang continued moving forward as her last three blows bring her to a knee, where she attempted a roundhouse kick, allowing Neo to deliver a spinning hook kick, knocking Yang to the ground, the former's guard completely open on the left side.

While on the ground, Yang growled in anger, to which Neo responded by performing a drop kick. However, Yang dodged by rolling away, and subsequently springing up to attack once again.

Neo countered through a pull in redirection of force technique, pulling Yang's arm in with her own left arm, and performing a well-executed ax kick to hit Yang on the chin, before kicking Yang in the stomach with a perfect side kick. Neo then began pushing Yang back via her umbrella, now on the offensive, as Yang tried to counter her movements with Ember Celica. Neo was able to effortlessly push Yang back against a wall, until the latter shot a blast directly towards the former's feet. Neo, however, simply backflipped effortlessly, and she landed perfectly on a metal container, before sitting, waiting for Yang's next attack.

* * *

In the next train car, Blake and Weiss were seen running, and then looked at each other when they heard the sound of revving up ahead. A figure was seen dragging a chainsaw along the floor. The camera panned up, revealing the White Fang Lieutenant.

"You go on ahead!" Weiss ordered.

"Got it!" Blake confirmed.

The Lieutenant chuckled menacingly as he held up his chainsaw. The two Huntresses-in-training charge forward, with Blake deflecting an attack as Weiss flipped backward. Weiss delivered multiple strikes at the Lieutenant and the two dueled, each parrying the other's attacks successfully before Weiss flipped the Lieutenant over, knocking him down. She then smiled at Blake as she proceeded to the next car. The Lieutenant got back up, again chuckling menacingly. "Finally, I get to kill a Schnee..." He laughed.

Weiss held up Myrtenaster en garde.

* * *

Back up top, T'Challa ran towards a Paladin, jumping onto the head and using his claws to easily slash through the glass and break into the cockpit, throwing the White Fang Member inside out of it and pulling the Paladin to the right, causing it to lose balance and jumping off before it fell into the tracks. Suddenly, he heard the commotion below inside the train and sensed Yang and Weiss going up against powerful and dangerous auras. "Dante! Cereza! Go below! Your siblings are in trouble!" He said.

Dante froze the legs of another Paladin with Cerberus and Bayonetta sliced them off with her Chernobog. "What?!" They asked together.

"Yang and Weiss?" Ruby asked, off-guard, almost getting hit by a Paladin, but Kratos stabbed it with the Blade of Remnant and short-circuited it with the powerful electric blade.

"You must hurry, or these fights may be their last." T'Challa said.

"Weiss..." Dante said, rushing back.

"I'm on it." Bayonetta said, heading back as well.

"You have to save Yang, Bayonetta." Ruby said.

"You shouldn't even have to ask, Ruby." Bayonetta said, hurrying back to save her twin.

"Ryu! You go ahead! Try to reach the front of the train from above. You may have better luck!" T'Challa ordered the other black-clad warrior.

"On it!" Ryu said, rushing towards the front of the train.

* * *

In the next train car, Blake stopped and grit her teeth when she was greeted by a familiar foe.

"Hello, kitty cat. You miss me? You know, we really gotta stop meeting like this. People are gonna talk..." Roman taunted

Blake charged forward to attack, starting their battle. Blake feinted and used her Semblance combined with dust to create a fiery shadow of herself. Roman striking it and it exploded, propelling him into the air. Blake jumped up and delivered some midair strikes to knock him down, then landed in a fighting stance.

Roman fired a blast from the Melodic Cudgel, and Blake used dust to create a stone shadow of herself to take the blow. She leapt overhead and prepared to strike, only to feint again and create another shadow of herself with her Semblance. Roman blocked a flurry of attacks from Blake and tried to strike her with an overhead blow, but she dodged back and created a frozen shadow that trapped his weapon. As he tried to retrieve it, Blake performed a vertical slash that sent a shockwave down the train car, destroying the ice sculpture and knocking Roman into the door where he dropped his weapon.

Before Roman could stand up, Blake stepped on his chest and held her blade to his face. He chuckled nervously before trying to talk his way out of it. "Why are we fighting? I saw you at the rally, we're on the same side and you know it..." He asked, his voice getting a dramatic change in tone. She responded by lowering the blade to his neck.

* * *

Back up top, Kratos wrapped the chains of his swords around the legs of a Paladin, causing it to fall to its side, where he then grabbed it, dragging and shoving it off the edge of the train. T'Challa brought another Paladin to its knees and created an energy spear with his semblance and flung it through the Paladin and into the one coming up behind it, shorting out both of them. But much further ahead, Ryu finally reached the last train, where he encountered a familiar figured. "What's a 3-letter word for... 'Total dick?'" Dio wondered, his back to Ryu, a crossword puzzle in his hand.

"Dio!" Ryu said, having heard of the monster from his teammates.

"Hey, that works!" Dio said, filling it in, before turning around. "Ahh, Mr. Hayabusa, the only member of Team SCRN I have yet to face." He said.

"And I will be the last!" Ryu said, readying his Falcon's Talons.

"Quite confident, I see. I'm curious to see how long that will last when you're faced with... THE WORLD!" Dio shouted, stopping time and sending his stand forward towards the foe he now believed immobile and helpless...

* * *

Meanwhile, Weiss was fighting the Lieutenant. He ran towards Weiss as she raised her weapon defensively before using Myrtenaster to draw a pale blue circle in the air, forming a force-field. Cyan shockwaves radiated from the center of the force-field as the Lieutenant tried, in vain, to saw through it. Weiss then knocked him back with a slash from her weapon. He attempted another overhead swipe, but Weiss pointed her weapon downwards and let the chainsaw simply run down the side of it, creating sparks but missing her completely. She then spun and slashed him again, knocking him back. She flipped gracefully over him, slashing at his head and landing on the other side of him.

He got up and spun around, viciously swiping towards her sideways with the chainsaw. She acrobatically lowered her body underneath it, dodging the blow and backflipping out of range before attacking in a series of slashes and stabs that threw him into the air and back onto the ground. She flipped over him, facing him from another angle.

Rising from the ground, he slashed towards her, but she ducked out of the way. After attempting another overhead slash, which she dodged again, he managed to briefly knock her back after the two weapons clash. However, his subsequent kick towards her met only a pile of boxes, as she leapt onto the ceiling. She spiraled downwards with her weapon outstretched, but he stepped out of the way. She landed, before getting up, deflecting one of his attacks, performing a backflip and countering with a stab of her own, which sent him flying backwards. As he stood back on his feet, Weiss held Myrtenaster in front of her and concentrated, mixing yellow Dust with a glyph to create a haste glyph beneath herself. Utilizing her speed power-up, Weiss charged forward and created a series of glyphs that surround the Lieutenant. She leapt and began ricocheting off each of the glyphs, slashing him extremely quickly each time she passed him, knocking him to the ground.

Creating another glyph, Weiss attempted to stab him where he lied, but he rolled backwards, preventing her from doing so. She jumped in the air in order to attack him again, but things took a turn for the worst.

"C'mere, princess!" The Lieutenant snapped as he grabbed Weiss' face before brutally raising her above his head and slamming her into the ground, causing debris to be flung around, knocking her unconscious. He then threw her in the air, readying to hit her with his chainsaw...

Only to be hit in the chest and knocked back from Dante's stinger attack, the younger Schnee twin catching his sister with his free arm. "Weiss! WEISS! Talk to me, sis?! Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, horrified at the thought of losing a sibling once again.

"Dante..." She said quietly. Dante sighed in relief. She'd be okay.

"You sit tight. I'll deal with this guy." Dante said, setting her down and looking at the recovering Lieutenant.

"Ahh... The other one. I remember hearing of you. You stopped our original assault on the Schnee's so many years ago. Killing your sister would've been enough, but killing you will make me a legend among the White Fang." He boasted, revving his chainsaw.

Dante growled a bit. "A legend, huh? That fits you pretty well. Because legend's don't exist!" Dante snapped, rushing in again. He attempted to use his Stinger attack again, but the Lieutenant deflected it, staggering Dante back a few steps. He then swung his chainsaw down at Dante, who blocked each attack. The two clashed weapons several more times before Dante managed to break the Lieutenant's guard and slash his shoulder. He shouted in pain, but managed to knock Dante back with a powerful kick to the stomach.

Dante skidded to a stop a few feet away and observed his surroundings for a moment, coming up with a plan and pulling out Spiral, aiming the sniper rifle at the Lieutenant's feet, which the chainsaw-wielder prepared to block, but Dante then aimed to the right, the bullet bouncing off the ground, into and off a wall, hitting and bouncing off a metal crate, now coming back towards the two, bouncing off the roof and miraculously hitting the Lieutenant in the back, taking him off-guard and causing him to fall forward a bit. He managed to stop himself, but looked up just in time to see Dante hit him with an upward strike, launching him into the air, slamming into the roof and coming back down, only to be juggled by several hits from Cerberus, his aura vanishing before Dante finished the fight with a brutal Revolver attack from the weapons, leaving the Lieutenant unconscious and partially frozen. "Take some time to cool off." Dante said, walking back to Weiss.

"Oh, don't you start with the puns... Yang is bad enough..." Weiss groaned, sitting up and holding her head.

"Hey, take it easy. We gotta meet back up with the others, we're running out of time." Dante said, starting to help her up. "Here you go." He told her, putting one her her arms around his shoulders and his arm around her back, leading her into the next train, where he hoped Blake was done with Roman.

* * *

Yang's fight was still going badly. As Yang approached her, Neo smiled, taunting her, before Yang unleashed another attack. Neo countered, and began kicking Yang back. Yang unleashed another blast from Ember Celica, which Neo blocked. The two sparred briefly, hand to hand, before Yang grabbed Neo's foot, and pulled her closer to throw her, only for Neo to perfectly counter, before grappling Yang and using her momentum to throw her into the ceiling, knocking her unconscious. The smaller girl then approached Yang, slowly and menacingly...

But suddenly, She felt a massive pain in her stomach from Bayonetta suddenly appearing from nowhere, delivering a devastating double kick to her stomach, sending her flying back into the doorway before it could even open, leaving a massive dent in it. Bayonetta had used Witch Time just as she entered the train car and saw Yang unconscious so she could get a free hit on Neo. "It seems you have you to learn a very important lesson, little one... Don't fuck with a witch!" Bayonetta snapped.

* * *

Cut back to Roman being held down by Blake, he grunted as she pointed her blade at his throat. "Oh, still feisty. Soooo, what are we gonna do now? You think a little bow on top is gonna make people forget who you were? What you've done...?" He taunted

As she gritted her teeth at his words, Blake heard the door from the previous train car open behind her. Dante moved through the door, helping Weiss along with him.

"Blake! There's not much time left! We gotta get out of here, now!" Dante said.

"You heard him. So what's it gonna be, Blake?" Roman taunted.

She sheathed Gambol Shroud and kicked Roman in the face, knocking him unconscious. Blake went over to help with Weiss' aid, and the three hurried to the top of the car.

* * *

Meanwhile, Neo and Bayonetta were in the heat of battle. Neo continued to dodge around Bayonetta's chainsaws while landing the occasional hit to the former Umbran. Switching tactics, Bayonetta switched the chainsaws into their flamethrower and ice-thrower forms, spraying the deadly elements at Neo, who shielded herself with her Umbrella, before running forward at Bayonetta, the sword she would've used as a hidden blade to finish Yang now sticking out the front of her umbrella, giving her a deadly spike to her impressive umbrella defense, but luckily, Bayonetta had a new trick for this. Just before the blade hit her, she transformed into a cluster of bats, appearing behind Neo and landing some devastating hits to the smaller girl's back, knocking her forward.

Neo looked over her shoulder furiously, her eyes turning red as she glared at Bayonetta, jumping back to her feet, drawing her sword and rushing at Bayonetta, who readied her katana and prepared for the attack. She countered Neo's strike and swung down on her, but in a flash of light, she was gone. Bayonetta looked around quickly, before turning around just in time to see Neo as the smaller girl kicked her in her hip, bringing her to one knee, raising her sword for a deadly blow. Suddenly, a masked warrior - raven-haired and clad in red and black - came out of nowhere and attempted to strike at Neo. Thankfully, at the last minute, a mass of shadows appeared from nowhere and formed into Celty, who hugged Neo protectively with a shield on her back, the swordswoman hitting it and knocking the two back, the sister's falling to the ground. "What the?!" Bayonetta demanded.

Neo looked up and instantly recognized her attacker, her eyes changed from brown and pink to white, mirroring her fearful expression. But then Celty got back up, holding her scroll up for Neo to see. _[Neo! Are you okay?!]_ It asked, the visor of Celty's helmet up so Neo could see her sister's concerned eyes.

Neo was shocked that her sister, who she'd constantly snapped- well, texted at furiously and all but abandoned was now here, ready to protect her. _[Sis...]_ She texted back, before both sisters looked behind them. The mysterious swordswoman slowly drew her sword again - long and crimson red - and held it up intimidatingly. Celty jumped a bit in fear, before quickly typing something into the scroll. _[We're getting out of here! Forget Roman, if two people are going to survive, it's going to be us!]_ The text read. Neo, realizing the imminent threat before her, nodded wasted no time clinging to her big sister, the two being engulfed in a cyclone of darkness that quickly escaped from the train.

"That takes care of them..." Bayonetta said, turning to face the mystery woman. "So who are you?!" She demanded, readying Shuraba. The swordswoman looked down at the still unconscious Yang, before jumping away as Bayonetta slashed at her. "Stay away from her! And I asked who you are!? Are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to make you?!" She demanded again.

"Don't talk to your mother that way." She said, taking off her mask, revealing she looked just like Yang, only with black hair and read eyes, just like Bayonetta. "Well, you managed to hang in there longer than your sister, I always knew you had more potential than she did. After all, you're much more like me, than she is. Although clearly not enough, since you didn't finish your enemy as soon as you had the chance." She said.

"I am nothing like you!" Bayonetta snapped, lunging at her mother, only for her attack to be easily deflected, sending her to the ground, next to Yang.

"Clearly." She scoffed, looking down at her glaring daughter. "I saved your lives here. I won't do it again. You two need to get stronger and learn to never give your enemies mercy or time to recover!" She ordered. And with that, she slashef her sword to the side, opening an eerie red portal. She walked away from her daughters and into the portal. At that moment, Yang regained some consciousness and slowly got into a sitting position.

"Yang!" Bayonetta said both happily and in relief as she opened her eyes again, the two of them getting back to their feet. She got a brief glimpse at her rescuer before the woman disappeared. Yang rubbed her head, still reeling after just regaining consciousness.

"Who... was that?" Yang asked.

"Someone I never want to see again." Bayonetta said, glaring at where the portal was, before the two sisters quickly left the scene.

* * *

Back to Ruby and Oobleck, the Doctor dodged a couple swipes from the Paladin, and then ran to the top of its head, and shot it in its engine before jumping back down. Ruby twirled Crescent Rose around a few times, and then she and Oobleck fired simultaneously at the Paladin's feet, knocking it off the train. The both of them switched positions.

"Ruby! You go on ahead!" Oobleck ordered.

"But-" Ruby started to argue.

"Don't worry, Ruby. It's time... I teach them a lesson..." Oobleck said dramatically.

The Doctor went to take on two oncoming Paladins. Before she left, Ruby noticed the saddened Zwei looking up at her. She smiled and motioned for him to go join his new friend.

"Go." She simply told him.

With that, Zwei expression changed dramatically and barked happily before running off to fight alongside the Doctor. Ruby hurried to the front of the train.

While all this was happening...

 **Background Music: "Holy Diver" by Dio**

"The World!" Dio shouted, freezing time and sending his golden counterpart at Ryu. However, he was shocked when Ryu dodged to the left of The World's haymaker and slashed the apparition's right side with his left claw, before preforming a backflip, the knives on his greaves catching and cutting The World's chin a painful four times, the injuries appearing on Dio as well, who hissed in pain, holding the injuries and The World vanishing back into him. "Impossible! You're immune to The World's power!?" He asked in disbelief.

"You can stop time. I have a similar ability." Ryu said. Time suddenly resumed after this. "And it seems the time we both can do this is brief. Although, I'd say it takes more of a toll on you." Ryu said, noticing Dio already beginning to sweat as his injuries healed with aura.

"Impressive! It's not often I face someone who can pose an actual threat to me!" Dio said, before growing a sinister smirk. "But never forget! It's still two against one!" He laughed, summoning The World again and rushing in.

Ryu was now put on the defensive, blocking and attempting to counter their moves, but the other one would deflect the counters, putting Ryu back as square one. Eventually, The world threw a powerful hook that broke through Ryu's guard, leaving him open for a kick from Dio, but Ryu expertly used his off-balanced position to his advantage, leaning back and stabbing his claws into the ground, doing a cartwheel, avoiding Dio's kick and allowing to leave a couple of cuts across Dio's stomach with his greaves. "If faced far greater numbers of creatures far more dangerous than you." Ryu said.

Dio growled as he once again expended aura to heal himself and The World. "This isn't over yet, Hayabusa! You've yet to truly see the true destructive power of myself and The World together!" He snapped, He once again sent in his gold counterpart, who unleashed a massive flurry of punches Ryu struggled to block, a surprise kick to the ninja's hip taking him off-guard, one more powerful uppercut breaking Ryu's guard again, before disappearing, Dio rushing in with a flying round kick, knocking Ryu back. He quickly backflipped to get on his feet, but was immediately attacked by The World again, hit with a barrage of punches, The World grabbing him after this. "It just occurs to me, we never saw your boarding pass. I'm afraid that means your ride is over, Hayabusa!" Dio snapped.

"Ryu!" Ruby suddenly shouted, rushing in and leaving a deep slash in The World's side, twirling her scythe and leaving some deep cuts down the left side of the apparition's chest as it turned to face her.

"Great timing." Ryu said as Dio shouted in pain, the injuries appearing on him as well.

"Even if the odds are even now, it still won't save you!" Dio snapped, before looking at Ruby. (The silver eyes! This could be an even greater threat to the plan! I may lose this battle, but I'll have to ensure she doesn't survive to become a problem in the future! I'll just escape and fight another day! When this is all over, I will rule this world!) Dio thought. "The World!" He shouted again.

"Ruby!" Ryu said as time froze. Dio knew he was immune, but Ruby wasn't and if Dio managed to keep him busy long enough, Ruby would be vulnerable. Dio sent his counterpart out once more, rushing in as well to distract Ryu, but the ninja quickly pulled out a Lightning Dust Crystal and preformed the Art of Inazuma, blasting Dio and The World with lightning straight to the chest, depleting Dio's aura, forcing The World to retreat back into him. As he tried to recover from the initial shock of getting struck by lightning, Dio looked up in time to see Ryu leap towards him, grab him by the sides of the head, flip over and behind him and throw him off the front of the train with deadly force.

Dio hit the ground in front of the train, holding his neck in pain, before glaring up at the top of the train, where Ryu glared down at him. "A simple throw won't stop me!" He snapped, before realizing something. "Wait! My aura's gone... But time is still frozen... That means!" He said fearfully, looking at the train.

"I'm the one stopping time." Ryu explained. "And time resumes..." He said, restarting the time around them.

"Noooo!" Dio screamed as the train slammed into him, killing him instantly.

 **End Music**

Ruby prepared to attack, when she suddenly realized the enemy was gone. "Whaaat just happened?" She asked, confused.

"We've won. And light has driven away the darkness once again." Ryu said. The remaining members of Teams RWBY and SCRN reemerged from the train cars to rejoin their leader and ninja. Ruby looked on worriedly as she realized the train was on a collision course with a thick concrete wall.

"What do we do?" Blake asked.

Ruby and Weiss smiled at each other, and the latter formed an ice shield to protect her friends and teammates, bracing themselves for the impending crash. The train crashed into the wall, the explosion causing the screen to go white.

* * *

Dante and the rest of Team SCRN snapped back to consciousness to the sound of the city's emergency alarms. They looked around in horror as they realized they were in the central part of Vale, and multiple civilians in the area noticed them among the debris. "Dammit! We're back in the city!" Dante said.

"And the Grimm can't be far behind." Kratos said worriedly.

"Cereza, help me with the others! Kratos, Ryu, try to get the civilians away from here! And get ready. We'll have company REALLY soon." Dante ordered, heading over to Weiss.

"You got it." Bayonetta said, hurrying to Yang and Blake.

"We'll take care of it." Ryu said.

"Count on us." Kratos said as the two tried to usher away the confused civilians.

"Hey, Weiss! Come on, get up! This is DEFINITELY not the time to get your beauty sleep." Dante said, shaking his sister.

"Hnn? Dante? What is-" Weiss started, before realizing what was happening. "Oh, no." She said.

"Yeah, get ready." He told her, helping her up and moving on.

"Citizens, please! You have to get away from here! Go home, get indoors! It's not safe here!" Ryu instructed.

"Move, people! The city's in danger! Get back to your homes, now! Or you're as good as dead!" Kratos snapped, confusing many civilians.

"Yang, Blake, get up! We really need you now! All hell's about to break lose!" Bayonetta said. (I might even be willing to take Inferno over this) She thought.

"What's going on?" Yang asked, stirring a bit.

"What happened?" Blake asked as well, pulling herself back to consciousness, both of them realizing what's wrong. "No! The people!" Blake said, horrified.

"The city..." Yang said, worriedly.

"We're working on it. You work on getting ready to fight!" Bayonetta said.

We now switch to Ruby's perspective as she starts to wake up, being shaken by Bayonetta. "Whaaa?" She asked weakly.

"Ruby, get up! We didn't make it! The train crashed and we're in the middle of Vale! People are in danger! Wake up and get ready! By now the Grimm are!" Bayonetta started, before everyone heard and felt the sound of low rumbles and growls from behind Ruby. Suddenly, a giant King Taijitu emerged from the hole, and multiple Grimm started pouring into Vale. The civilians screamed as they attempted to flee the chaos. The sounds of screams and roars filled the air, and all Team RWBY can do is watch in horror. "Dammit! Come on! Stop standing there! We have to help these people!" Bayonetta said, running into the fight.

"This way, hurry!" Ryu shouted, leading people down a narrow street, him and Dante using firearms to pick off the Grimm getting too close to civilians before Dante used some glyphs to send a good number of cars flying and block the road the civilians took, blocking them off from the Grimm.

Not too far away, some more civilians were heading down another street as Bayonetta kept the Grimm off them and Kratos slammed down one of the heads of a King Taijitu, before defending himself from the other to a close up on Ruby, her expression changing from worried and scared to angry and determined. The alarm continued to blare as the screen suddenly cut to black...


	24. The Battle For Vale

We see Jaune sleeping during the night inside Team JNPR's dorm room. "Waffles..." He murmured in his sleep. He suddenly woke up to a call on his scroll, with the ringtone "It's a Big Ursa!" playing. "Hello?" He answered. He heard a loud noise from Ruby's Scroll, causing him to let out a small yelp before the call ended. "Uh, Ruby?" He asked worriedly, holding the scroll close to him

* * *

Later on, Team JNPR walked at dawn towards their Bullhead. "I'm sure they're fine." Pyrrha assured her leader.

"You think?" Jaune asked.

"Probably a butt dial..." Nora said dismissively as she skipped towards the Bullhead.

"Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field. Not to mention Team SCRN is with them as well. We should be focusing on our own mission." Ren added to help reassure his friend.

"We're gonna be deputies! Aww, I wish Ryu could be here with us to see it!" Nora said happily.

"He'll be proud to hear of your success when he returns." Ren told her.

"I just got this feeling... I don't know." Jaune said.

"Jaune... Their our friends. Some of them are even family. I trust all of them to come back safe. You should, too." Pyrrha said.

Suddenly, alarms rang out, Nora covering her ears. They looked out to the city to see it up in smoke. "We're changing our mission. Everyone on board!" Jaune ordered, ushering his team toward their Bullhead, Jaune doing a headcount, before stopping Ren. "Ren, we'll make it to that village another time." He promised, Ren nodding, before the two of them got in the Bullhead. "Take us into the city!" He ordered.

As the Bullhead took off, Mercury Black, Cinder Fall, and Emerald Sustrai watched nearby. "You don't think..." Emerald asked.

"Sure looks like it." Mercury said.

"That's still days away!" Emerald said.

"So? What do we do?" Mercury asked.

The camera panned to a close-up of Cinder's face, before she made her decision.

* * *

Teams RWBY and SCRN were surrounded in the middle of the pavilion by Beowolves, Ursai, and a massive King Taijitu. "You know, just once, I'd like to just face two or three enemies instead of a whole swarm." Ryu said.

"Then you're in the wrong line of work, buddy." Dante said.

"Where's the fun in only a few enemies? At best, this will only be a light workout." Bayonetta said.

The King Taijitu unleashed a mighty roar, signalling the Grimm to attack. "No more time for talking. Now it's time for action!" Kratos said, rushing toward the enemy, leaping and latching his blades into a massive ursai (V5 Yang trailer), pulling himself in and repeatedly stabbing it in the chest, bringing it down then executing a cyclone of chaos to slice apart a group of Creeps charging at him from all directions.

Ruby planted Crescent Rose on the ground before kicking away a large group of beowolves that perfectly circled her, Yang propelled herself upwards, performing aerial bombardments with Ember Celica on a group of Grimm. Three Nevermores about the same size as her were about to attack and send her crashing to the ground, Each was hit with a couple of red energy feathers, killing them. Bayonetta suddenly appeared by her sister in the air. "Going down, sis?" She asked.

"You know it!" Yang said, grabbing her younger twin's foot, Bayonetta flipping and flinging Yang directly down into an Ursai Major, the older twin slamming her fist down into the monster's head, instantly taking him to the ground. Bayonetta then slowed her descent with a barrage of bullets from her pistol, raining bullets down on a small horde of Beowolves. A group of mixed Grimm rushed at her next, but when they were at the right distance, she activated Witch Time, equipping her Rakshasa swords to her feet and executing a break dance maneuver, slicing the monsters to ribbons.

Blake slashed a Beowolf with Gambol Shroud before firing on the other approaching Grimm. Weiss slashed three Beowolves, before summoning a glyph to conjure up an ice blade, slicing quite a few Grimm circling her. "Not, bad, sis. But how about we show them what the Schnee twins can do together." Dante said, walking up, before sliding past her and stabbing an Ursai rushing at her with his Stinger attack. Weiss then noticed a couple of Beowolves rushing at them, jumping one slashing at her feet and turning upside down, slashing the Beowolves in mid-air while Dante had drawn Cerberus and beat a couple of Boarbetusks back with them, before leaning back and holding out Cerberus, allowing Weiss to grab one of the prongs, letting Dante throw her forward to impale another Ursai.

Yang, back on the ground, sent several cars flying towards the Grimm. As Ruby finished slashing at a Grimm, she noticed the King Taijitu ready for the attack, until she also saw Nora flying on her Magnhild hammer towards the King Taijitu. "Nora Smash!" She announced, slamming it on the head and killing the beast.

"That's my girl!" Ryu said. He used the Flying Swallow to decapitate a Creep rushing at Nora while she swung her hammer to knock away a Beowolf that was behind the Creep, charging at Ryu. He turned and drew his Vigoorian flail, slicing apart a trio of Creeps running up behind him and Nora. "I told you we'd get to save the world together!" He told her with a smile.

She giggled at this. "I think this calls for fireworks!" She said, turning her hammer into a grenade launcher and firing on Grimm in the distance charging at the two of them. For a moment, it seemed like the coast was clear, so Nora walked up beside Ryu and gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to smile and blush.

Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren soon entered the battlefield as well. "Let's move!" Pyrrha ordered, her and Ren rushing into the fray, however, grumbled that Pyrrha stole his thunder, before jogging forward, looking for an enemy.

Nora swung her hammer like a mix between a baseball and golf swing to send a creep flying. "Smack!" She said as she did so. Ren jumped above and kicked a Creep in the head, launching himself higher into the air, coming down and hitting another Creep in the face with a left insider crescent kick in mid-air, before landing and scoring a trio of slashes on a Beowolf.

"Okay, who's first?" He asked. Suddenly, he heard something big stomping up behind him, turning around to notice a giant Ursai standing behind him. "Oh-oh-okay, you're first, huh? Okay, no, that's fine." Jaune said nervously, backing away a bit.

The Nikos siblings reunited and fought together, Pyrrha stabbing a Creep in the back of the neck with her spear, then swung wide and sliced a Beowolf's throat, spinning and stabbing another Beowolf and throwing it over herself, spinning again and stabbing a Creep attempting to bite her in its mouth. Kratos shield slammed an Ursai and stabbed it through the head with his own spear, a couple of wide swings cutting down a couple more Beowulves and a few dozen high-speed stabs to the chest putting down a Beringel. The two then turned to see Jaune backing away from his Ursai. Pyrrha looked in concern and started to head over to help him, before Kratos put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Wait. Give him a chance. We improved his strength and skills. Now believe in them." He said.

"Totally fine, done this before, done this before..." Jaune said, letting out a sigh. With a mighty scream, Jaune slashed the Ursai several times. It stood still for a few seconds, before it finally fell back, dead. Pyrrha smiled, as she noticed his improvement.

"He's improved far more than I gave him credit for. He's come a long way." Kratos said.

A few feet from the fallen Ursai, Sun and Neptune arrived. "Nobody move! Junior detectives!" Sun ordered, flashing his badge.

"We have badges so you know it's official!" Neptune said, presenting his own badge.

An Alpha Beowolf ran up behind the two and lunged at them, but Dante slashed it with Rebellion, sending it flying away, before shooting at it 10 times with Ivory, putting it down. "Then how about you do something official and help fight!" Dante snapped.

"O-oh... right..." Sun said, the two of them putting away the badges and drawing their weapons. Sun ran in and jumped into a decent-sized group of Beowolves, beating a few of them down with its staff form, before separating them into a pair of gun-chucks, simultaneously smacking around and filling the Beowolves up with holes as they tried to close in on him. Meanwhile, Neptune played the role of supporting fire, gunning down a number of Grimm getting too close to either himself or Sun. An Alpha Beowulf caught him by surprise and almost hit him, but he rolled under its attack, changing the weapon from gun to Guandao, impaling the alpha and swinging it in a full circle around him to knock away several more Beowolves coming at him from multiple directions, before throwing the alpha at a charging Ursai.

A fleet coming from the Atlesian Military flew above the city, consisting of dropships deploying Atlesian Knight-200 units and the flagship of James Ironwood. Sun and Neptune reacted in awe of the fleet. As Team RWBY looked up in the sky, an Ursai took the opportunity to attack Ruby from behind. However, it was gunned down by a dropship's machine gun, Ruby saluting in thanks."Hello, Ruby!" Penny said, walking up to her friend.

Ruby jumped and shrieked in surprise, turning around to face her friend. "Penny! What are you doing here... and who are those two with you?" She asked, looking at the people behind her Android friend. The first was a floating girl with unkempt silver hair with a cowlick much longer than Yang's and a long, braided ponytail with what looked like a strange spear head at the end, wearing a light blue skin-tight bodysuit and futuristic sword-themed armor that featured a set of eight disembodied blades that floated behind her in a wing-like formation. She also had a visor with a singular eye and horns at the end. The second was a handsome young man with spiky blond hair and pierced ears. Most interestingly, his eyes had black sclera with yellow irises. He wore black pants and a white, sleeveless shirt, revealing he had muscular-looking robotic arms.

"Oh, right! Ruby, this is my older sister, Nu and my boyfriend, Genos!" Penny introduced, shocking Ruby.

Nu moved in a bit close, but her lips turned into a delighted smile that defied the look of her intimidating visor. "Whassup, girl? Thanks for being friends with my lil' sis here!" The girl spoke, flying back and hugging Penny, who blushed a bit. Her voice also had a mechanical echo to it.

"Greeting, Ruby Rose. As Penny has said, my name is Genos. It's an honor to meet a friend of Penny's." Genos said, bowing to Ruby.

"Oh, h-hi..." Ruby said somewhat nervously.

"Whoa, head's up! Beowolf at6 6 O'clock!" Nu said, flying in, miming a bow and arrow with her arms as her swords flew in and stabbed the Beowolf, pulling themselves back and flying in all at once to slice the Beowolf diagonally in half.

walking up and grabbing Penny. "So, they're robots, too?" She asked quietly.

"Well, my sister is, but Genos is simply a cyborg. He was human, but a horrible accident with a Grimm forced General Ironwood to replace pretty much all of Genos' body with a new mechanical one." Penny explained as they turned to watch Genos masterfully beat down a group of Ursai, jumping into the air and shooting a massive stream of fire down at them, reducing them to Dust.

"I see." Ruby said, looking back at Nu, who had created some circle on the ground, a group of Creeps inside the movement trying to attack her, but moving at speeds slower than a crawl, leaving them helpless to Nu's swords. "But it's a lot more obvious that she's a robot than it is with you, doesn't her being a robot make people think you are?" Ruby asked, shooting at a few Beowolves out of the corner of her eye, still focusing on Penny, who had her swords ready and with the occasional flick of her wrist, sent them at a Creep getting too close.

"Not at all. People just assume I use the term endearingly, not literally. Nu is actually a prototype for me, but she was built too advanced, so my design had to be scaled down. I'm happy she still works, though." Penny explained, the sister's waving to each other, their swords flying around wildly and killing a few Grimm as a result.

"Awesome. I'm happy you have family, too." Ruby said with a smile.

"Me, too!" Penny said, before the two moved to rejoin their own groups.

As the robotic Knights deployed, they started gunning down the Grimm. Two of the Knights were stampeded on by a Boarbatusk, but a separate group of three Knights fired on an Ursa, finally putting it down after like 5 seconds of non-stop shooting. "What the hell kind of weak guns are those?! 3 of you were shooting him at once and he was standing there like he didn't even feel it! Ironwood needs to go back to the drawing board with those things." Kratos said.

Another Ursa had fallen from a Knight's punch. Cinder nodded her head, signalling Mercury and Emerald to attack the Grimm as she walked off. As an Ursa received the business end of Mercury's Boots, at least half a dozen assorted Grimm stood in front of Emerald. It turned out that Emerald's Weapons are actually a pair of bladed, revolver shaped pistols firing Dust particle lasers at the Grimm. The Grimm pack learned this the hard way, when all but a single Ursa Major fell while charging at Emerald. Emerald quickly transformed her pistols into kopis blades, flipping and slashing at the rampaging Ursa to kill it. Out of the opening came Zwei, followed by Dr. Oobleck in a damaged Atlesian Paladin. The dog barked proudly, before diving from the massive mech and headbutted a beowolf.

Black Panther soon burst out of the rubble behind the Paladin, rushing at some Beowolves and lunging at one of them claws-first, impaling them. "To challenge a king is to face the might of his people!" He said, pushing off the corpse of the Beowolf and slashing apart a few others, catching a charging Boarbetusk and tossing it into the air, slicing it in half with his claws, before rushing at an Ursai, slashing it a few times and with a powerful upward slash, cleaved its head off.

An airship arrived, dropping off Team CFVY and Professor Peter Port. As Yatsuhashi was surrounded by a pack of Grimm, he swung his mighty greatsword on the ground, unleashing a shockwave that sent the Grimm flying. Velvet Scarlatina and Fox Alistair respectively kicked and punched the Grimm, and Fox unleashed a combo of slashes and punches that made an Ursa Major swell up and explode, impaling the nearby Grimm with its spikes. Some spikes flew towards Team CFVY, but they managed to block or deflect them easily, Coco with her purse and Yatsuhashi with his shoulder/upper arm armor, protecting him and Velvet.

"Nice hustle, Fox. Good job." Coco said, giving Fox a light pat on the butt before approached a large Beowolf who glared down at her. "You just destroyed my favorite clothing store." She said angrily, spitting. "Prepare to die." She told it. After swatting away its right hand, she kicked the Beowolf in the crotch. As it fell to the ground and looked at her, she leaned down and slammed her bag onto its head. She effortlessly swatted away more beowolves and kicked one in the ass, the rest of Team CFVY resumed fighting. Velvet stepped forward, about to open her box, but Coco stopped her. "Hey, come on, you just spent all the semester building that up. Don't waste it here." She told her. Coco then transformed her handbag into a giant minigun, and started firing, slaughtering and literally SHATTERING the advancing horde of Grimm, including a Death Stalker and three giant Nevermores, which were effortlessly ripped in half. Port and Oobleck regrouped at the opening, nodding their heads. They fired their weapons at the approaching Grimm, while Glynda Goodwitch mopped up the remnants and immediately closed the opening with the power of telekinesis.

* * *

Later on, everyone met in the pavilion as Roman Torchwick was escorted by Mercury and Emerald towards an Atlesian airship. "Oh, I can't believe that you caught me, you've really taught me the error of my ways." He said, struggling a bit as he was transferred to a pair of Atlesian Knights. "He-hey, watch the hat!" He snapped at an Atlesian Knight, who grabbed him by the arm.

Emerald and Mercury then approached Ruby and they smiled at each other. Team JNPR was seen exchanging smiles, Sun and Neptune bumped fists, Team CFVY likewise smiled at each other, and Port and Oobleck did the same while Glynda watched from behind. The camera then pointed towards the orange and pink-colored sky.

Black Panther then walked up to Team SCRN when they broke off from the rest of the group. "You were every bit the warriors Ozpin told me you'd be. And every bit the heroes I expected." He said.

"We aim to please." Ryu said.

"So, how long has Ozpin known we were reborn on this world?" Bayonetta asked.

"That is a question better suited for your headmaster than me." He said.

"Then we should go have a few words with the headmaster ourselves." Kratos said.

"Yeah, we'll do that... but first we need to kick back and relax with our friends for a bit. I'd say we earned it." Dante said.

* * *

Afterwards, Teams RWBY and SCRN, along with Zwei were sitting on the edge of Beacon's landing platform, overlooking the City of Vale from across the lake.

"Well, we did it." Yang said.

"We did it." Blake confirmed.

"Yeah, I think we can all pat ourselves on the back for that." Bayonetta said.

"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm gonna be seriously disappointed." Weiss said.

"That's a little TOO much patting on the back, sis." Dante said.

"Weiss, a two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it." Yang told her.

"Plus, I mean, we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this, or who that mystery girl was." Ruby added.

"One question is answered and two more take its place." Kratos said.

"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending." Weiss said.

"But it's lazy writing when they don't." Ryu said.

"We might not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that's something we could be proud of." Blake said.

"Yeah! And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them." Ruby said.

Yang laid down on her back, Zwei mimicking her action. "Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, alright, good job..." She said tiredly.

"Yes, hip-hip-hooray, huzzah and all that." Bayonetta said, laying on her back as well.

"So, what now?" Yang asked.

"I suggest training for the tournament, but I guess we have that covered at this point." Weiss said.

"Really? So, you already forgot about the guy with the chainsaw beating you up? You might need to check for a concussion there, sis." Dante teased.

"Oh, quiet, you!" Weiss said, beating on his arm.

"So then..." Blake said, trying to think of something.

"Uhh... Time for bed?" Ruby asked.

"Please." Yang agreed.

"Absolutely." Blake concurred.

"Yes." Weiss confirmed.

"I'm going to sleep forever." Yang said.

The teams and Zwei then stood up and headed back towards Beacon's main campus. Team SCRN looked at each other and nodded at this. "You know what? You guys go ahead, we'll catch up." Dante said.

"You guys okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. We just need to go talk to Ozpin about something." Bayonetta said.

* * *

Vale's Government Council called on Ozpin, who responded in his office. The headmaster aloofly stare outside his window.

"Ozpin?" Councilman #1 asked. No response. "Ozpin!" He snapped.

Ozpin turned his chair towards his desk. "Yes, Councilman." He answered.

A video feed of the councilmen was shown on a holographic screen with Ironwood's video feed in the corner. "You've left us no choice! The Vytal Festival tournament cannot be broadcast, let alone held, if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens." The councilman explained. Ozpin simply sipped from his cup. "Ahem... Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council and together have decided that the best action is to appoint General Ironwood as head of security for the event." He finished.

"Thank you, Councilman. Our Kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that the event runs smoothly and safely as possible." Ironwood said.

"And we thank you, General." The councilman said.

"Will that be all?" Ozpin asked with annoyance in his voice.

"For now. But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion about your position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports over the last few weeks have left us somewhat... concerned. I am sure you understand." The councilman said.

The faceless councilmen's video feed disappeared, leaving Ironwood's video feed alone with Ozpin. They silently stared at each other for a moment. "This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise, I will keep our people safe, you have to trust me." Ironwood said. Ironwood then hung up the video call. Ozpin then turned his chair around to look at the large Atlesian Airship outside his window.

* * *

The camera cut to Ironwood, looking towards Beacon and Ozpin's office through a window. "You brought this on yourself." He said. Ironwood then walked toward a heavily guarded Roman in his holding cell, albeit without his signature hat. "Leave us." He ordered. The soldiers left Ironwood alone, so that he could talk to Roman. "I've been informed that so far you've refused to co-operate with the authorities." He explained.

"I know this might be hard to believe, General, but uh... I'm not the biggest fan of local law enforcement." Roman said.

"How about the world's strongest military power?" Ironwood countered, somewhat threateningly.

"Hmm.. first impressions... not great." Roman said.

"I'm going to give you one chance. Who's really behind all this?" Ironwood asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Roman said quietly. Ironwood leaned his ear toward him to hear his answer. "You're looking at him." He said, opening his arms to refer to himself.

"Hm.. Very well then." Ironwood said, walking away.

"What's the matter, General? I thought you wanted to talk." Roman teased.

"The council's given me custody over you for as long as I see fit. So you can make yourself comfortable. I can be sure that you'll have plenty of time to talk." Ironwood explained.

"Oh, wonderful. Hehehe..." Roman chuckled darkly before the door to his cell closed.

The camera pans towards Roman's face as he laughs. His holding cell door closes.

* * *

In Ozpin's office, Team SCRN arrived to find their headmaster standing in front of his desk, waiting for them. "I've been expecting you four." He said.

"So, I'm assuming you know what this is about?" Dante asked.

"Yes. T'Challa had informed me that you knew I found out your secret and you'd likely want to talk about it." He explained.

"How did you know?" Kratos asked.

"You were not the first warriors from other worlds to be revived on Remnant and you certainly weren't the last. I gather information from all over the world about people with extraordinary abilities that put even veteran hunters to shame. And we are in dire need of those talents. Ryu, that's why you and your friends were accepted into Beacon. Their talents are great and with further training, will carry them far, but your skills were exceptional. As were all of yours. Remnant needs people like you to fight for it. All of you." He explained.

"Why did you never say anything?" Ryu asked.

"I assumed you wanted your privacy. Most revived, as we call them, do. T'Challa denied any notions of it for quite some time and only admitted it once we built his trust over many years. He didn't even admit it to his loved ones... as I assumed you haven't." He said.

"No. The lives we lived before are in the past. And they should stay there." Dante said.

"Especially mine. If my family, especially Pyrrha, knew of my past, she'd never look at me again." Kratos said.

"We can agree on that. Who you were in your past lives doesn't matter. All that does matter is what you do with the lives you live now." Ozpin said.

"You said Remnant is in dire need of skills like ours. What did you mean?" Bayonetta asked.

Ozpin smiled at this. "What's your favorite fairy tale?" He asked...

* * *

Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald met discreetly at a rooftop. "All in all, I call today a success." Cinder said.

"Those stupid kids really made a mess of things." Emerald said.

"Yeah. A lot of Faunus didn't make it out the tunnels. You still think the White Fang's gonna listen to us?" Mercury asked.

"No, but they'll listen to me." A new voice said as the camera panned to Adam Taurus.

* * *

Back in the tunnels, Medusa and Terumi moves some rubble, eventually finding Dio's crushed, mangled body. Terumi scoffed at this. "Ha! After all that talk about being the greatest being and the most powerful of all of us, in the end you got your ass stomped by some kids! How the mighty have fallen, eh, Dio!?" He snapped, kicking Dio in the head.

"Still, he wasn't exactly wrong. With a semblance like his, not many people really could step up to him. Just a shame that ego of his always got in the way." Medusa said, before gaining a snake-like grin. "But maybe he'll be a little more humble after we put him back together." She said, the two snake-themed villains sharing a laugh and dragging away the blonde monster's body as the camera cut to black.


	25. Chibis SCRN'd

**Hey, everyone! I was planning on waiting until Volume 3 was finished, but I've been thinking about a few Chibi situations for Team SCRN and couldn't wait to share them with you, so here it is. Obviously, this has nothing to do with the actual canon of Team SCRN and is only intended to be a funny, light-hearted distraction from all the things all of you are nervously awaiting in the next volume. It might be hard to imagine Team SCRN as chibis, but trust me, there is fanart on Google to help you, if you look up each member individually. But without further ado, I give you...**

 **SCRN Chibi!**

* * *

 **1: bonding.**

Jaune was excitedly walking down the street with a less than thrilled Kratos. "Oh, man! This is great! I can't believe we're finally hanging out together! Well, you know, besides training, but it's nice to have a little guy time when we're NOT swinging flaming swords or giant gauntlets at each other." Jaune said excitedly as Kratos huffed.

"Yes... Pyrrha insisted that we..." Kratos started, shuddering a bit before he spoke again. "Bond with each other. I told her there is no greater act of bonding between men than training and preparing for the next battle ahead of us... But she used her puppy face... And I was powerless..." Kratos said, hanging his head in shame.

"Riiiiight." Jaune said awkwardly, unsure of how else to respond, before perking up once more. "So! Where do you wanna go? Feel like getting something to eat? My tummy's running on empty." Jaune said, holding his stomach as Kratos growled a bit at Jaune's childish explanation of hunger.

But, as annoyed as he was, he had to admit, getting food did sound like a good idea. "Yes. I want to get some noodles." He said.

"Sweet! Where do you wanna go?" Jaune asked.

"In the direction of noodles." Kratos said simply.

Jaune slouched a bit at this, getting his own annoyed look. "Uhh, yeah, you know, Kratos, there's a lot of different places to get noodles! You could probably go in any direction and find a place to get noodles... Probably strangely run by the same old man that runs every other store in town." Jaune said, thinking about it at the end.

"Then stop complaining and start walking." Kratos said, walking away, Jaune groaning and rolling his eyes, following his mentor.

* * *

 **2: Ninja vs. Nurse.**

Ryu was attempting to sneak through the halls, but was not doing so effectively, looking pale, coughing and sneezing as he headed to class, yet looking around nervously, as if some unknown dangerous was coming for him. "Ryu!" Ren said, walking up behind the ninja, causing him to jump. "Are you okay? You look a little sick." He said, but Ryu suddenly covered his mouth with both hands.

"No! Not sick! Completely fine! Don't say that word!" Ryu said frantically, pulling away from Ren, who immediately began rubbing his face, particularly his mouth area, with hand sanitizer, following with mouth was and breath spray. "I'm perfectly fine, Ren, thanks for asking. I've just been out of the sun too long. Been playing that new game, CombustionCerulean!" Ryu lied. (That's a Remnant rename of Blazblue, for those of you that didn't get it)

Clearly, however, Ren didn't buy it. "Uhh-huhhh... And the coughing and sneezing?" He asked.

"Bayonetta went crazy with her perfume this morning. The whole room is a pink fog. Ozpin even ordered the room to be sealed off for the rest of the day so it could air out." Ryu said.

"For some reason, I don't believe you. Maybe you should go see the nurse." Ren said, but Ryu covered his mouth once again.

"A nurse is exactly what I'm trying to avoid right now! If I'm lucky, I can still make it to class without running into..." Ryu said, before a shadow suddenly loomed over him, causing him to turn in horror to see Nora wearing a nurse's outfit standing behind him with a crazed look on her face. "Nora..." He said fearfully.

"Aww... Is my big, strong ninja feeling sick? Why don't you let nurse Nora help! I'll start by taking your temperature..." She said menacingly, pulling out a thermometer.

"No! I'm perfectly fine! In fact, I'm about to go for a run!" Ryu said, running as fast as he could from the deranged nurse.

"Come back here, Ryu! Just let my love cure you!" Nora said, chasing after him.

Ren watched in concern as Nora pursued Ryu, knowing the worst would befall his friend if Nora caught him. "May you move with the speed of a falcon to stay ahead of her, Ryu." He said, but then shrugged. "Better you than me, though." He said, starting to walk off, before letting out a few coughs, his eyes widening in horror.

* * *

 **3: In the nick of time.  
**

Ruby entered her dorm, looking for the rest of her team, when she suddenly spotted a particular book under Blake's pillow. She zoomed over to it, examining it with interest. "Ninjas, huh?" She said with curiosity. But before she could open the book and start reading, it was suddenly no longer in her hands and was instead in the grasp of Bayonetta, who looked at Ruby disapprovingly. "Oh, come on, Bayo! It's a book about ninjas, it has to be good!" Ruby said.

"Oh, trust me, it's good." Bayonetta said with a blush, before shaking her head and looking back at Ruby. "But that's not something you should be reading! Here, have a Camp Camp comic, instead." She said, handing a kiddie-looking comic to Ruby instead. "I need to go talk to Blake about hiding her smut somewhere else... But first!" Bayonetta said, walking away and reading the book. Ruby watched her leave in disappointment, hearing her voice again when she was out of the room. "Now that's a katana!" She said, to which Ruby slouched and grumbled.

Later on in the kitchen, she came across her dad struggling to feed pills to Zwei. "Hey, Dad. Zwei still not taking his meds?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm trying to keep him healthy and the ungrateful dog won't just take his medicine, which is more expensive than anything **I** take!" The older Xiao Long said.

"Aww, the poor Zwei doesn't want his meds? That's okay, buddy! You don't have to take them." She said, kneeling down and petting the corgi, getting him excited and happy, before she stood up and held out a treat. "Here, boy, have a treat. You earned it." She said, producing a treat, to which Zwei excitedly ran in a circle for, before reading himself to catch it as she tossed it, but the only thing entering his mouth has her hand and the poor corgi could feel the pill rolling down his throat. "Well, my work here is done. See you." She said, leaving as Zwei growled bitterly.

A few hours later, Bayonetta was walking down the courtyard when she noticed Yang repeatedly lunging at Blake, who vanished out of the way each time. Eventually, she finally gave up, the two stopping by Bayonetta as Yang put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath as Blake simply walked away with an amused smile. "Hey, sis. What was that about?" Bayonetta asked as Yang looked to her in surprise, before a mischievous smirk crawled on her face.

"I couldn't get Blake, but maybe I can get Bayonetta!" She said to herself under her breath, before lunging at her sister. "Tag, you're it!" She said, lunging at her sister, only to land in the spot she was previously standing, Bayonetta nowhere to be seen. "What the!?" Yang wondered, looking around.

"No, I'm not!" She said, back at the entrance of the school, before heading in, leaving Yang to let out a small shout of rage, her eyes flaring red.

Later that night, Bayonetta entered team RWBY's dorm to say good night to her sisters and dog. "Hey, girls!" She said with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

"Get her!" Ruby cried, Yang and Zwei lunging at Bayonetta along with the young speedster, but they suddenly froze in mid-air as Bayonetta activated her semblance, a mischievous smirk crossing her face as she pulled out a marker and drew a mustache on each of them.

"You'd think they'd have learned by now." She said, walking out and deactivating her semblance, causing the 3 to crash into each other, dazed.

* * *

 **Well, that's it for episode 1. Sorry I didn't have a sketch with Dante, but I couldn't think of any. If you have any suggestions for future sketches, let me know and I'll try to fit them into the next one. And get ready for next time, because we're starting Volume 3, the thing we're all worried about the most. What will happen? You'll just have to wait and find out!**


	26. Silent Sisters

**Huge shout-out to Israel Pena for writing this section. It was originally intended to be in the Battle for Vale in place of the scene with Neo and Celty I had written, but he wasn't done writing it yet and I was too impatient to upload the chapter, so as an apology and because I thought his piece was so great, I'm putting this as it's own extra mini-chapter. Also, check out some of his other works, he has a lot of great stories of his own, such as Team Akatsuki, Blizzard of Time: A Xenoverse Story or OC v OC: Dawn of Morality. Now, without further ado, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.**

* * *

Neopolitan, or Neo for short, was in the living room of an apartment that she and her sister were currently staying at. It had been some time since the train incident, where she almost killed a pair of twin huntresses in training for their interference in a mission that her partner Roman Torchwick was managing. However, the interference of two _other_ women forced Neo to leave for her own safety since the train was about to crash. Namely, those women were her sister Celty and the leader of a bandit tribe, Raven Branwen. Because of them, Neo was forced to leave behind her partner Roman as he had been arrested and taken by the Atlas military. Neopolitan regretted not staying with him, since she could've helped him evade capture. Was this all part of Cinder's plan? Neo didn't know but doesn't care either. She was going to break Roman out of prison.

Grabbing a Miraculous Ladybug duffel bag, Neo slammed it on the coffee table and opened it wide up. Once she did so, Neo began to fill the bag with an assortment of guns. The guns she was getting were hidden at different areas in the apartment, from in between stacked magazines to under the seat cushions to being duck-taped under tables. Neo was the one who originally placed them in their hiding places since she was the one who stole them in the first place. They ranged in firepower, sizes, colors, etc. Loading the weaponry, she crammed them into the duffel bag. Along with the various guns, she topped them with dozens of boxes of ammunition like sprinkles on an ice cream sundae. Lastly, she placed a magazine titled _Anime Monthly_ with a picture of Konomi Fujimura on the cover. Zipping up the bag of weaponry and a single magazine, Neo hung it over her shoulder as she was about to exit the apartment.

Unfortunately for the criminal mute, the door opened and revealed Celty to be standing in her way. The biker stared down at her sister with her arms crossed. Her body language gave off the impression that she wasn't very happy at what her sister was doing. She took out her scroll and typed on it.

 _[Where do you think you're going? And what's in that bag?]_

Neo rolled her eyes and typed on her own scroll in response.

 _[It's none of your business, so get out of my way.]_

Neo tried to get past her sister, but Celty wouldn't budge and denied the criminal from leaving. Neo gritted her teeth and types on her scroll again.

 _[I told you, GET. OUT. OF. MY. WAY.]_

A harsh slap echoed throughout the apartment as Neo felt her left cheek stung by Celty's right hand. The criminal mute just stood there after the hit, but only for a few seconds. In a blink of an eye, Celty's helmet fell off her shoulders and landed on the floor with a thud. Neo was shown to have her parasol's blade already drawn and clearly used it to strike her sister's neck. No longer having her helmet on to wear, Celty was now shown to not possess a head. Instead, only a shadowy vapor exited her neck. The biker just stood there, unmoving despite the action. Her body language indicated that she's staring down at her sister, who glared at the space where Celty's head should be with anger in her eyes. They "stared" at each other for a few more seconds until Celty typed on her scroll again.

 _[You're going for him, aren't you? That man. You're going to break out Roman Torchwick.]_

Neo's glare softened as she lowered her head, silently confirming her sister's assumption. Deactivating the blade from her parasol, she stared back at her sister with a look of fierce determination in her eyes. She took out her scroll and typed on it again.

 _[_ _Are you going to try and stop me again?]_

Celty responded by typing on her scroll again.

 _[_ _Even if you did manage to get past me, how are you going to break him out? He's in a military prison cell in one of General Ironwood's ships.]_

Neo smirked at her sister's concern and gestured to her duffel bag, typing on her scroll to give a response.

 _[So? That's not going to be a problem for me. I have 3,000 rounds of ammunition with me, and I can do a lot of things with just only 12 bullets.]_

Celty had the urge to facepalm, but unfortunately, she doesn't have a head to facepalm her hand on. Instead, she typed on her scroll again.

 _[You're breaking into a highly secured military ship with a duffel bag filled with guns to break out a known criminal. Why are you willing to do all this, especially for him? Why are you doing this all for Roman Torchwick, the very man who brought you to a life of crime?]_

Neo didn't answer. She instead gritted her teeth again, finding herself unable to look at her sister. Celty noticed the inner conflict that her sister was having but still wanted to know her reasoning. After a few more seconds of waiting, Neo typed on her scroll to provide her answer. _[_ _You wouldn't understand.]_

If Celty could sigh, she would have. It's obvious that her sister didn't trust the biker with her predicament. However, if she was going to get the answer that she's requiring, then she needed to let Neo know that she could trust her sister. Celty also needed to let herself know that she should help her sister with her problems and should try to understand her. The biker typed on her scroll once again.

 _[I'll understand. At least, I will try. You can tell me, Neo. I'm your big sister after all. Please try to tell me.]_

Neo became silent, seemingly having an internal debate with herself in her mind. As a result, she became immediately unresponsive as she struggled to make her decision. Celty decided not to pressure her sister and decided to wait instead. After what seemed to be a full minute, Neo typed in her answer on her scroll.

 _[It's because I love him. When we were separated, he found and helped me. He took care of me. We immediately became partners in crime, and it wasn't long until I developed feelings for him.]_

Celty, in turn, became silent for a moment after hearing her sister's reasoning. Due to the biker lacking a head, Neo couldn't tell what was going on in her sister's mind. Celty's body language showed no emotion from her, making her hard to read for Neo. Eventually, the biker started typing on her scroll to give her response.

 _[I understand how you feel. There was someone that I was once in love with too. I knew him his whole life. The time we spent together is what led me to develop my affections for him.]_

Neo, smiling for a bit, typed on her scroll.

 _[From your life that you had in another world. I know. Thank you for understanding.]_

Celty typed on scroll as well, responding back to her sister.

 _[Your welcome, and I proposition for you. I'll help you, but you and Roman will have to give up your life of crime. No more committing criminal acts.]_

Neo narrowed her eyes as she frowned at her sister's proposition. She couldn't accept it. Roman wouldn't accept it. She and Celty had trouble growing up in Remnant. The same could be said for Roman, as he told the criminal mute about his life and constant struggles that plagued it. The criminals committed their crimes to make money, greatly increasing their chances of survival.

 _[No. If we give up on our criminal lifestyle, there'll be nothing left for us. Do you really expect us to take out jobs with minimum wage, especially with our status? That won't help us survive. We won't join someone like Cinder ever again. We'll only watch out for ourselves.]_

Celty gripped her scroll tightly but continued to type on it for her responsive.

 _[Look, I can't accept that. What if you guys get caught? Roman has been to jail before.]_

Rolling her eyes, Neo typed on her scroll.

 _[With my unique abilities, he won't ever have to be. Besides, you aren't exactly practicing what you're preaching, especially with that informant of yours.]_

If Celty had a head, she would rub her temples. Instead, she typed again on her scroll.

 _[As much of a bastard that he is, Izaya is the only person that I know from my world living in Remnant and is therefore one of the few people I can trust. However, I do see your point. We'll continue to discuss the matter later after we break my brother-in-law out of his prison cell.]_

Neo blushed at words, resulting in her puffing her cheeks in embarrassment. Celty, putting her scroll away, picked up her helmet and put it back on. Afterwards, they left their apartment for their new mission of breaking Roman free from military custody. It's a good thing for Neo that Celty didn't tell her to leave behind her duffel bag of guns and ammunition.


	27. The Tournament of Power (Not Really)

Team SCRN stood in front of their headmaster, shocked at what they had just heard. "So, all this time, the Maidens, beings that could probably hold their own against us back in our old worlds, are real and one of them had their powers stolen, so someone, presumably someone very dangerous, is walking around with half of that power, working for some evil witch who is the queen of all the Grimm?." Dante said.

"That sums it up almost perfectly, yes." Ozpin confirmed.

"So, shouldn't this be big news all over Remnant? So people know and understand exactly what's going on, so we can try to prepare for it?" Bayonetta asked.

"No. That would cause widespread panic. This goes against thousands of years of what mankind on Remnant has know. Some people wouldn't accept it. And we all know people can become violent in defending their ideals." Ryu explained, the other 3 knowing perfectly well what he meant.

"Precisely. We have to play this smart. And close to the chest. We can't let too much information get out, but clearly we need more help than we have now. Which is why we need your help as well. Now more than ever. We have all but confirmed that the enemy, presumably even the one who stole Amber's powers, have infiltrated the academy. I need you 3 to keep a lookout for anything suspicious and report back to either myself, Glynda or even General Ironwood. And please, much like your own secrets, keep this to yourself. Even to your siblings and loved ones." Ozpin asked, the team nodding.

"Believe me, we plan to keep them out of this as much as possible. So don't you try to bring them in later, either." Kratos said.

"I hope it won't come to that." Ozpin said, although he seemed to look away a bit at this, which Kratos found somewhat suspicious, but decided to let it go.

"So, are we free to go?" Dante asked.

"Indeed. We should have peace for a while now. With such a heavy blow to their operation, I doubt our enemies will make a move any time soon. So use this time to rest, relax, see your family. But don't forget to plan ahead for the Vytal tournament. It is just right around the corner. Beacon isn't the only school with students like you." Ozpin said.

* * *

Dante used Rebellion to stop his enemy's blade, a blade that was shockingly and somewhat disturbingly his opponent's entire right arm. We pan out to reveal a stadium of epic proportions was seen. Crowds were cheering in the stands, visitors from all over the world.

High above the action, two familiar teachers were sitting at a sportscaster's desk, with a microphone between them and the holographic image of the four kingdoms' symbols united as one.

"Hello! It seems that we have another astonishing bout ahead of us! Wouldn't you agree, Professor?" Port asked his co-host.

"Doctor." Oobleck corrected, annoyed, before brightening up excitedly again. "And yes Peter, I think it's safe to say this match may be the closest we've seen of the four-on-four round of the tournament!" He agreed.

Back on the arena, which consisted of a destroyed city and a swamp. Dante pushed back from his opponent, regrouping with the rest of team SCRN as the other team gathered in front of them. The first member and leader of the team was a white male with dark brown hair and green eyes with a muscular physique and tan skin-tone, wearing a green long-sleeved shirt with blue jeans and brown shoes. He also had a raccoon tail, a ring around his neck like a necklace. The most unusual thing was he didn't seem to have a close-combat weapon, instead mainly carrying a number of firearms: a 45. Defender, an AK-47 and a Condor shotgun.

The second, the one who Dante was facing, was a very pale boy with sickly gray tinting around his light blue eyes. The rest of his face and head was hard to see due to him having the hood up on his plain gray hoodie under his black leather jacket with a red tribal design on the back, On his lower body, he wore plain blue jeans and black shoes. However, the most interesting, or possibly disturbing thing was the boy's arms: the left one was a menacing claw that looked to be made of both flesh and metal, the right arm being a massive, equally menacing blade of flesh and steel.

The next was a pretty young woman with elegant facial features and deep brown eyes. She had thick, dark brown hair which she kept tied up in a pony tail, though she kept the front in a layered and choppy style. She had a slender and toned physique with a few scars on her arms. She wore a blue tank top over a white one, tan cargo pants and dark boots. Like her leader, she also had a variety of guns: a set of semi-automatic pistols with a back-up set of uzis, an AK like her leader, a combat shotgun and even a bow with assorted arrows. However, unlike her leader, she had close range weapons, a set of climbing axes.

And the final member of the team is another girl with fair skin, soft features, blue eyes and curvaceous figure, as well as long golden blonde hair, that was placed into two curled-point ponytails, by two pink with white trimmed scrunchies, and a few bangs across each side. Her outfit seemed more for a night on the town than combat, wearing a red short skirt, a tank top with stripes varying from whitish-pink to dark purple that revealed her midriff and a jean jacket over it (her Date Night skin). But without a doubt, the most interesting thing about her was the weapon she carried, a heavily modified and bedazzled chainsaw with a few hearts cut into the blade..

"Beacon's own Team SCRN vs. Vacuo's Team DMCS (Damocles)! Consisting of their lucky leader, Nathan Drake, their most unique and impressive fighter, Alex Mercer, Crafty and cunning Lara Croft and energetic attacker, Juliet Starling!" Oobleck explained as the team re-engaged, Bayonetta and Lara engaging in a shoot-off while Kratos rushed at Nathan, who ran towards the ruined city, firing back at Kratos with his AK while Kratos charged through the bullets with his spear and shield. Dante and Alex clashed once again, breaking off from the main group as Ryu rushed in, avoiding a low swing from Juliet's chainsaw and grabbing her with the guillotine throw, hurling her into the swamp, causing her to land in the water.

Juliet popped up from the water and shook off a bit, groaning as she looked down at her clothes, which were covered in water moss and swamp scum. "Oh, man! Gross! You threw me into the nasty swamp, you ninja jerk-ass!" She snapped, popping up from the water and transforming her chainsaw into some form of cannon, shocking Ryu, who jumped from tree to tree to avoid the shots.

"Come on, Ryu! I know you got this! Take that swamp soaked cheerleader down!" Nora cheered from the stands above the arena

Weiss shuddered from her position. "A chainsaw. What a dreadful, unladylike weapon." She said.

"Aww, is someone still mad Dante had to save her from the big bad White Fang lieutenant?" Yang teased.

"Oh, hush, you! Bayonetta had to save you from that diminutive criminal girl and even SHE had to be rescued!" Weiss countered.

"Should you be more focused on your friends and siblings down there?" Blake asked.

"Go, Team SCRN! You can do it!" Ruby cheered.

 **Background Music: "The Remedy" by Seether**

Back with Dante, he switched to Ifrit and seemed to be fairing somewhat better than with Rebellion, but it still appeared to a stalemate between him and Alex. His opponent countered an attack, leaving him open, but he managed to move his arms just in time to block the massive blade, shoving him back. Mercer then changed the blade into a whip and swung it at Dante's feet, but he managed to jump over it, pulling out Cerberus and lashing out with one of the prods, wrapping it around Mercer's ankle, yanking on it and pulling his feet out from under him, sending him to the ground, before spinning and swinging him over his head and through a wall of the abandoned building. "Oh, yeah! Guess he couldn't change enough to stop that!" He smirked, before gasping as Mercer stood up, his arm a blade once more as it now appeared he was in some kind of armor. "Or... Maybe he can..." He said.

"Most impressive! Dante is quite the skilled, capable warrior, but few can fight in ways Alex Mercer cannot adapt to. A rare octopus faunus, Alex's semblance reflects the creature of his animal traits, allowing him to change shape, size, color or even texture, allowing him to turn his arms into weapons and armor that rival the strongest metals on Remnant, regenerate severed limbs and even change his physical appearance, taking on the form of anyone he's ever seen in his life! Also, for anyone wondering if he should be in the water, depending on the conditions, an octopus is capable of remaining out of water for up to 60 minutes!" Oobleck explained.

"Oobleck pretty much said it all. There's nothing you can do I can't adapt to. May as well give up!" Alex said.

Dante smirked at this. "Oh, I think you'll find I'm pretty adaptable myself." He said, switching back to Ifrit.

Meanwhile, Bayonetta was casually strutting towards Lara, who stood her ground as the two endlessly shot at each other, the bullets bouncing off each other. Finally, when they were close enough, Bayonetta flipped forward, attempting to hit Lara with an axe kick, but the former tomb raider rolled out of the way, drawing her axes, lunging forward and striking at Bayonetta, who got back to her feet and readied her Rakshasa swords. The two matched each other surprisingly well, until Bayonetta used her feet, backflipping and knocking Lara into the air, turning her swords into Onyx Rose shotguns and blasted her twice with each gun, jumping and sending her to the ground with another axe kick. She then readied her rocket tonfas to blast Lara and take her out of the match, but then...

As this had been going on, Ryu and Juliet had been fighting in the swamp, Ryu now using his ninja skills to try and sneak up on Juliet after she had lost him in the treeline. He finally reached her and struck with his claws, but she spun and countered with her chainsaw, the two pushing each other back, before Juliet put the chainsaw back on her back and switched to, of all things, a pair of pom-poms, leaving Ryu slightly dumbstruck. He quickly recovered, though and the two struck at each other, Juliet matching Ryu's attacks, even managing to catch the ninja off-guard and hit him in the face with said pom-poms, to which Ryu felt a burning and shocking sensation. "Fire and lightning dust. Not bad." Ryu said.

"It gives them a nice sparkly look." Juliet explained as the two attacked again. They traded a few more blows, each managing to get through each other's guard and land a hit once or twice, but Juliet then noticed Lara getting axe kicked out of the air and to the ground. "Lara, no!" She shouted, backflipping to avoid a sweep kick from Ryu, hitting him in the face with a drop kick and sending him flying into a tree. She then grabbed her chainsaw and turned it back into a launcher. "Back off my bestie!" She said, firing at Bayonetta, who looked up just in time to dodge the attack by transforming into a swarm of bats, shocking everyone in the arena, including Juliet herself and especially a certain patron at The Crow Bar in Vale.

After reforming after evading the projectile and rushed in, delivering a powerful uppercut with her tonfas. "Ryu, now!" Bayonetta shouted. Ryu nodded, jumping onto and off a tree and slashed Juliet, making her spin and go higher into the air, vanishing and slashing her two more times, getting her up to 20 feet in the air, before grabbing her from behind and spinning as they plummeted to the ground, slamming her into the ground with a devastating piledriver known as the Izuna Drop, dropping Juliet's aura to red and knocking her out.

"Incredible! After a completely unexpected technique from Bayonetta, she executed a devastating team attack with her partner Ryu, allowing them to defeat Juliet! It is now 4 to 3! Team SCRN has the advantage!" Oobleck announced as Bayonetta carried Juliet to the the edge of the ring and dropped her out gently so she was out of danger.

"Excellent work." Bayonetta said as the two high-fived.

"You set her up, I simply knocked her down." He said.

However, the two of them sensed danger and noticed Lara had gotten back up and was aiming an explosive arrow at them. "Then I guess it's my turn to knock you two down!" She said, releasing the arrow, forcing the two to dodge.

As all this was happening, Nathan was still running through the destroyed city, firing back at Kratos with his AK while the former Spartan plowed through the bullets with his shield, before launching out the head of his cestus as Nate rounded a corner, smashing a hole in the corner, making Nate run faster as he felt a few pieces of debris from the wall hit him in a back. "Alright, we're throwing stuff, huh?! Hot potato!" He said, throwing a grenade back just as Kratos rounded the corner, raising his shield just in time before the grenade exploded.

"Face me, coward! A true warrior faces his foes!" Kratos roared.

"Well, guess I'm not a true warrior! I'll just settle for being the guy that wins!" Nathan said on the roof of a nearby building, shooting at Kratos some more, the former Spartan growling he rushed in. "Oh, hey, watch your step!" He called out, shooting in front of Kratos. The former God of War didn't notice before, simply believing it to be a harmless piece of debris or rubble, but there was something on the ground right in front of him as he blindly rushed at Nate, a grenade, which the former adventurer shot, sending Kratos into the corner of another broken building which shattered at the force of Kratos hitting it.

"Ah, Kratos is a 4-time champion of the Mistral Regional tournament, but it seems without the calming support of his sister or teammates, he's letting his anger get the best of him." Oobleck announced.

"Yes and reportedly, Nathan Drake has always had a knack for angering people." Port agreed.

"Hey!" Nate said, looking at the announcer's booth, holding his arms out in the "what the hell?" manner.

"Do not take your eyes off the enemy!" Kratos snapped, rushing up the side of another broken building, using it as a ramp to get higher up as he closed in on the building Nate was on, leaping off and above Nate, swinging down on him with the cestus, but Nate dove out of the way, causing Kratos to crash through the floor.

"Heh. Even in the next world, I still got my good luck." Nate said with a smirk, approaching the hole to shoot at Kratos, but the former Spartan began shooting the cestus heads into the floor above him, tearing the floor down. "Followed immediately by shit luck!" Nate said worriedly, trying to get off the roof, but unfortunately, he stepped on a weaker part of the roof, causing him to fall to the level below with the furious Kratos. "So, uh... 4-time champ, huh?" Nate said nervously.

"What happened? I thought you were the guy that wins?" Kratos asked, before bringing the cestus heads down on him, breaking him through floor to the ground level, bringing him into the red.

During this, Dante and Mercer were still fighting, pretty evenly matched, although Mercer was landing a few more hits and had Dante's aura a good bit lower than his. Dante managed to deflect the blade and grab Mercer's claw hand before it could cut him, landing a few fire-enhanced kicks to the former bio-monster, before sending him flying back with a fiery uppercut, then pulling out Spiral and blasting him in the chest launching him back. Mercer rolled a few times and stabbed his blade into the ground to stop himself. Due to the damage he received, he didn't have enough aura to keep up his armor, turning him back to normal, growling at Dante. "Ha! How you gonna adapt to that?!" Dante asked.

Alex smirked, turning his blade into a whip. "Like this!" He said with a smirk, rushing in, avoiding the bullets Dante shot at him, slashing at him with his claw, which Dante dodged or deflected, but eventually left himself open to a hit from the whip, sending him flying though the wall of a broken building in the ruined city.

"Okay... So the guy IS pretty adaptable. Maybe I should get some back up." Dante said, getting up and hurrying into the city, making his way through several broken buildings or other structures and making his way through a hole in a wall, taking cover, before finally finding Kratos destroying the floor above him in the building he was in to bring Nate down to him. He chuckled a bit at this. "Kratos. Always knows how to bring down the house." He said, about to head to the building and retrieve his partner, before hearing a noise behind him, spinning and raising his sword to Ryu's throat. "Ryu! What are you doing here?" He asked.

"You looked like you were having trouble, so I came to help you out." He said.

"Awesome. He probably followed me into the city, so we just have to find him and take him down." Dante said, starting to head through the hole in the wall he'd just run through, but then saw Ryu back near the center of the ring after attempting a flying swallow, which apparently failed, but he did manage to disarm Lara of her axes. But if Ryu was there, how was he next to him? Unless... "Oh, crap!" Dante said, turning back as Alex turned back into his normal form and struck with his blade, which Dante blocked with his sword, but was knocked back into a large piece of a building broken off from the rest of the building.

As this had been going on, Ryu and Bayonetta were dealing with Lara. They dodged her explosive arrows, each taking off in a different direction. Running after Ryu first, Lara drew her pistols and charged into the swamp area, running around the tree Ryu had vanished behind and aimed, only to find the ninja wasn't there. She glanced around a bit, reaching for her climbing axes as Ryu slowly rose from the water behind her, ready to strike with his claws, but she blocked them with her axe. The two traded several blows managing to hold off each other's assaults. Lara managed to dodge one of Ryu's attacks, grappled him and threw him to the ground. He looked up at her as she drew her bow, ready with an explosive arrow. "Sorry. Have to do what I have to do." She said, preparing to fire the arrow at him.

"So glad you understand then." Bayonetta said, Lara turning just in time to see the former Umbran hit her with a jumping kick that sent her flying to the very edge of the swamp area. "Having a bit of trouble?" Bayonetta asked as she helped her partner up.

"She's not bad. But if we get those climbing axes away from her, she doesn't stand a chance." Ryu said, rushing in. Lara recovered as Ryu jumped and flew towards her with his claws out and ready for the Flying Swallow attack. She managed to block his strike, but was knocked down on one knee. She turned towards him and raised her hand in preparation to strike, but was shocked to see he had disarmed her, her climbing axes now in his hands, which he simply tossed to the ground on either side of him.

"Pretty cheeky, but you seem to have forgotten I still have guns!" She said, drawing her shotgun.

"But she didn't." Ryu said, pointing behind her. She turned again in time to see Bayonetta come down on her with an axe kick, knocking her out.

"Excellent! With some impressive teamwork, Ryu Hayabusa and Cereza Xiao Long have eliminated Lara Croft from the battle, leaving the entirety of Team SCRN against the lone Alex Mercer." Oobleck announced.

Back with Dante, he looked up after Alex had knocked him away, looking up as the faunus jumped at him, lunging at him with his blade, ready to strike. He readied to block the attack, but it never connected, as Mercer was blasted in the back by a ball of lightning, sending him crashing to the ground. "Having trouble with your opponent, Dante?" Kratos asked.

"Guy's pretty tough. But I think the 4 of us are tougher." Dante said as he got back to his feet.

"Dammit! You got lucky! No I'm getting serious!" Alex said, changing his arms into hammerfists, about to charge at the two, before having to block Ryu's claws.

"We don't need luck. We have skill." He said, dodging Alex's attacks and landing his own.

"And numbers!" Bayonetta said, jumping in and cutting into Alex' right arm with Shuraba.

"Looks like you couldn't adapt, Alex!" Dante said as he and Kratos readied their guns, aiming at him.

"I told you, I can adapt to ANYTHING!" He shouted, suddenly shooting out a giant mass of tentacles, forcing Ryu and Bayonetta to jump back and dodge with help from Bayonetta's Witch Time while Kratos and Dante dodged as well. The tentacles finally reeled back in and the team used the time to advance, Ryu and Bayonetta hitting him with their tonfas, battering him and leaving him open as Kratos rushed in and launched him into the air with an upward slash from his swords.

"Time to send you off on a high note!" Dante said, sliding and playing an amazing rift on Nevan, shooting a pillar of electricity upwards to electrocute Alex, depleting his aura and winning the match.

 **End Music**

"Incredible! With amazing teamwork, a powerful combo and a stylish finish, Team SCRN has won the match!" Port announced.

"An unbelievable match that will surely be difficult to follow! Now let's see which match will follow!" Oobleck said, turning to the randomizer screen that appeared, the images of teams RWBY and ABRN appearing.

"Ah, there we have it! Team RWBY will be facing off against Team ABRN! Will both teams please collect their gear and make their way to the arena?" Port instructed as team SCRN left the arena, where they met up with Team RWBY.

"You did it! That was awesome!" Ruby said, jumping into Bayonetta arms, hugging her sister, who happily returned it.

"Yeah, that was great, sis! Since when can you turn into a bunch of bats?!" Yang asked.

"Just something I picked up recently." Bayonetta said simply.

"Wonderful job out there, little brother." Weiss said approvingly.

Dante rolled his eyes, but chuckled a bit at this. "Thanks, sis. Good luck keeping your eyes off Ruby long enough to fight." He countered.

"Oh, hush, you!" She snapped.

"You all did great." Blake said supportively.

"Thanks. I'm sure you will as well." Ryu said with a polite bow of his head.

"Best of luck to you, Team RWBY. I'm certain you'll win. Give it your all." Kratos said.

"We totally will." Ruby said.

* * *

Team SCRN made their way into the stands, taking the seats RWBY previously sat in, beside JNPR. "You guys did amazing! Great work out there, Kratos!" Jaune said.

"He's right. You all fought exceptionally well out there. Well done, brother." Pyrrha said as Kratos sat beside her.

"I admit, it felt awkward fighting in a tournament without you, but it was still nothing I couldn't handle. I've dealt with many fools that talked big, but failed to back it up. He was no exception." Kratos said.

"You were awesome out there, Ryu! You were jumping through the trees and swimming through the swamp to sneak up on those guys like a total ninja!" Nora said happily, hugging her boyfriend.

"You're cheering gave me the confidence I needed to keep fighting." Ryu said to her with a smile, kissing her cheek.

"And you did so excellently. Well fought, my friend." Ren said to him with a smile, which Ryu returned, the two placing a hand on their chest and giving each other a small bow of the head.

"Well, anyway, no more talking, let's see Team RWBY kick some butt!" Dante said, leaning back in his seat with his arms behind his head and his feet on the back of the empty chair in front of him.

 **Background Music: "We Will Rock You" by Queen**

In the field of volcanic earth and icy glaciers below, Ruby fired and swung her Crescent Rose at an off-screen target as Blake exchanged blows with Reese Chloris, the blades of her Gambol Shroud colliding with the hoverboard of her opponent until she flipped away, readied herself, and charged in again. Behind her, Weiss waved her Myrtenaster as the sound of her mystical power was heard, and finally Yang dodged the explosive force of Arslan Altan's fist before returning fire with her own Ember Celica.

"For those of you just now joining us, welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament, broadcast live from the Amity Colosseum!" Port announced as he waved his arm to gesture at the entire event from his place on the gigantic screen over the crowds.

The Coliseum was shown in its full glory, as shuttle crafts transported people to and from the various floors while the entire structure hovered around the airspace of Beacon Academy. Explosions were seen throughout the battlefield, but the view shifted back to the announcers as they began speaking again.

"If this is your first time watching, allow us to break down the rules." Port started.

"The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds; teams, doubles, and singles. Age and school year are irrelevant! In this tournament, your only attribute being tested... is skill." Oobleck explained as he held up the appropriate number of fingers for each of his explanations as a hologram to his side illustrated the rules.

Port nodded as another hologram popped up to do the same thing. "Correct! The winners of this battle will elect two of their members to represent them in the doubles round, followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance once again. The remaining combatants will then fight their way through the final bracket in the hope of achieving victory for their kingdom!" He explained as the hologram disappeared with the image of a victorious figure, sword raised and wearing a crown.

"And yes, Peter, these certainly are some spectacular spectacles on which to spectate on! I don't think anyone tuning in around the world is going to disagree with me on that!" Oobleck said as he pushed up his own spectacles as he says this. As he said this, the scene changed to their televised broadcasts all around the kingdoms, from a row of holographs above the patrons in the Mistral Distillery to an Atlas home with a group of friends seeing it together, a bar in Vale where everyone turned to view the screen, and outside a mobile home in Vacuo being watched by a few Faunus on a projection.

"Ahh, and why would they? Now, let's get back to the match between Team RWBY of Beacon, and Team ABRN, of Haven." Port explained.

The announcements cut back to the action, as Reese steered her board through the ice. She twirled herself until the board got launched at Blake, but she was able to knock it away, only for Reese to direct it back at her opponent. Blake blocked it again, but the board rotated back to its wielder just in time to defend Reese as Blake delivered several slashes and kicks. Reese deflected each attack and spun her weapon around until she could flip away and ride it again, rushing towards a smirking Blake. She collided with the frozen shadow clone, and Blake used his opportunity to slice the board in two, only for the halves to become dual katars that in turn folded up into bayonet-bladed revolvers. Reese managed to fire off a few green rounds before her tailbone collided painfully on the cold ground. Blake winced with sympathy.

Meanwhile, Yang landed mere feet away from Arslan, who backed away before being pounded by a flurry of punches and kicks until she delivered her own hits, ending with the two smashing fists and creating a shockwave of force from the impact. Yang and Arslan were both thrown back, but Yang reached her and tried delivering more blows before Arslan used her rope dart to tangle up her blonde adversary and landed a kick of her own to send Yang skidding on the ground. While Yang tried to get her balance back on the slippery surface, Arslan rushed forward and knocked her back even further.

Nearby, Nadir Shiko tried aiming with his assault rifle at Yang before a sudden burst of frosty blue exploded behind him and left the whimpering gunner in a block of ice up to his thighs.

"Got your back!" Ruby said, looking up from her sniper scope.

"But who's got yours?" A voice asked behind her.

Ruby looked up behind her as Bolin Hori twirled his staff, right when a black snowflake glyph appeared to his left and Weiss kicked him through it into a rock.

"My BGF! Best Girl forever!" Ruby said.

Weiss deadpanned at this. "No." She said, before running off.

"Yes." Ruby whispered to herself, pumping her fist.

Bolin crouched with his weapon as he saw a white glyph appear in front of him. A second later, Weiss dashed by and slashed at him, then leapt up and attempted an aerial attack, which he was able to block. She readied her sword while preparing a glyph behind her, and Ruby used it to launch herself straight up and came down spinning on Bolin, who managed to block the curved blade. Ruby grimaced and blasted herself away to Weiss' side, and Bolin rushed at them, rolling away from the shards of ice that rain on him and jumping over Ruby's swing as he continued running.

"Whaaat!?" Ruby said in disbelief.

Bolin managed to reach an orange crystal deposit and sliced off a shard, which he threw to Reese over in the icy half of the stadium. With Dust in hand, Reese fused it with her board, turning the aqua lights to a crimson shade. She winked at Blake, then used the board's heat to free Nadir from his icy snare.

She came back to Blake and slammed her board into her enemy's blade, but propelled herself backwards and knocked Blake through a frozen pillar. Reese attempted to use her board to slam her foe into the ground, but when she dodged that, she spun around in a flaming arc that Blake narrowly missed thanks to her shadows. Changing tactics, Blake launched the pistol part of Gambol Shroud at a nearby glacier and launched herself behind it, as Reese follows her and saw Blake with her back turned to her under an arch. Reese grinned before riding in to deliver a flaming spiral at the shadow clone, only to see the ribbon Blake was launching to trap her opponent a moment too late. She pulled tightly and caused Reese to slam body-first into the string, only to use a final kick to knock her out of the stage. Reese crashed into the wall of the stands before landing on the ground, defeated.

"Ooh, a double whammy! Reese Chloris is eliminated by ring-out and Aura level!" Port announced as Reese's Aura level dropped in the team display until her image was crossed out and she angrily slammed her fist on the ground.

"Oh, she really should've worn a helmet!" Oobleck quipped.

Back in the fight, Arslan used her rope to swing around and avoid Yang right behind her, using shotgun blasts to propel herself forward. Nadir came into the picture, aiming his rifle at Weiss as she summons another glyph and launched Bolin at him. The two teammates were helpless as Weiss created a whirlwind from underneath them and slammed the two together until she formed a giant ice fist straight up from the ground to trap the two. It reformed itself into a ball that rolled around the field. When Arslan saw her team in this state, she rolled her eyes, annoyed, before changing direction and sliding into the path of the ball. She readied her stance and drove her hand into the sphere, which cracked under her power and freed her allies.

"Yang!" Weiss called, Yang turning to look just as she created a large frozen slide-like shape. "NOW!" She ordered.

Knowing what to do, Yang blasted herself forward and skimmed over the wall of ice, catching Blake's pistol as her teammate used Ruby as a launch pad to jump off of towards the remaining members of ABRN. The three only had a second to look, horrified as Blake whipped a screaming Yang around to land a devastating punch that sent the trio flying into their elimination.

 **End Music**

"Yes!" Yang cheered as the buzzer sounded and Ruby cheered "YAAAAAY!" in the background.

"And that's the match! Team RWBY is victorious!" Port announced.

"That's the way, sis! Great work out there!" Dante cheered.

"Yang! Ruby! I'm proud of you girls!" Bayonetta cheered as well.

"We... did it?" Weiss asked, looking around and sounding surprised.

Ruby looked at her sister for confirmation, she smiled and leapt into the air, screaming. "WE DID IIIIII-

* * *

"-...is anyone else starving?" She asked miserably, suddenly hunched over as we see teams RWBY and SCRN in the fairgrounds.

"I may have worked up an appetite." Blake said, looking cool as ever with her arms behind her head, before the growling of an angry beast from her stomach proved her statement, much to its owner embarrassment.

"Really, you're hungry? I never would've guessed. I think that stomach growl from yours was louder than the rift Dante played earlier." Bayonetta said.

"Hey, I had to give the crowd something special for the end." Dante said.

"What we had to do was win the fight, but in the end, we did win and that's all that matters." Ryu said.

"Gee, if only there was somewhere on campus to get food around here." Weiss said, sarcastically shrugging her arms, the view zoomed out to show a myriad of tents and small shops wreathed in colorful flags in a large forest clearing as people mill about to experience it all. "Oh, wait." She said in mock realization.

"It's okay, Weiss, I forget about the fairgrounds, too." Ruby said, taking Weiss' shoulder.

"I was being facetious?" Weiss said, knocking Ruby's arm away.

"Gah! Well if you were hungry, why didn't you say so!?" Ruby said, freaking out a bit.

"We're all too hungry for your sarcasm, sis." Dante said.

"Come on! I know just the place." Yang said, walking off.

"It better be good. The only thing mightier than my fighting spirit is my appetite." Kratos said.

The two teams started to follow Yang, but Weiss suddenly stopped as she heard a ringtone on her Scroll. Pulling it out, she saw the caller ID labeled "FATHER", and glares at the device, putting it back from where she got it, unanswered.

"Dear old dad again?" Dante asked.

"Who else?" She asked.

"You know, he'll find a way to get you to answer him." Dante warned her.

"I'd like to see him try." Weiss said, following the others.

Off-screen, a dark-skinned hand was raised into view holding a red wallet filled with Lien. "Hey! Might be hard to eat without this." Emerald said.

Ruby turned and was shocked to see her wallet in Emerald's hand, frantically patting around her outfit. "No, no, no, no!" She said, panicking.

Emerald laughed at this. "Good to see you, Ruby." She said.

Ruby took the wallet back from her "friend" and put it away. "Oh! Thanks, Emerald! Oh. Guess I dropped it. Girl pockets are the worst!" She said, slouching as she said this.

"Yes... Good thing Emerald was here." Bayonetta said, giving Emerald a small glare, looking at Ryu and flicking her head, the ninja vanishing behind a nearby stand. For a while now, Team SCRN had been suspicious of the team, with Mercury usually acting shady and picking certain people to spar with in combat class rather than waiting for Glynda to select him a partner, plus Bayonetta had caught Emerald pickpocketing before, so for her to have just FOUND Ruby's wallet after she dropped it was more than enough to make her suspicious.

Team RWBY, however, did not share the other team's caution or suspicion. "What's up, Em?" Yang asked,

"Just left the stadium after your amazing fight! You guys were awesome!" She said.

"Oh, shut your stupid little face..." Ruby said, embarrassed, blushing and mumbling.

"We got the right skills to win, what can we say?" Dante said with a shrug.

"I heard your team progressed to the next round too." Blake said over Ruby's incoherent gushing.

"You know, I feel that we haven't seen your other teammates." Weiss said.

"How'd they do in the fight?" Yang asked.

Emerald tilted her head up in thought, remembering how she blasted opponents with her revolvers, then slashed behind her as Mercury kicked out a shotgun blast with his boots. Cinder delivered a powerful kick to her own target, landing the poor soul at the feet of their teammate, a mysterious black-haired girl who leaned over and stared down as the camera focuses on the blue fire in her hands, before going back to her face as she smirked while delivering a stomp on her victim's face, sending him into darkness.

"Really well." She said, coming back to reality, nodding.

"Good for you, then." Kratos said.

"That's great. Uh. Why don't we all go and get a victory food together?" Ruby offered.

"Oh, gosh, that's so nice of you, but my teammates are all kind of..." Emerald started, looking back at Mercury as he sniffed the inside of a boot, looking perplexed after he did so. "...introverted. Really socially awkward." She finished.

"Ooh, yeah, I could see that." Yang said, nodding.

"Oh yeah, looks like Merc and I are going to move on to the doubles round. What about you guys?" Emerald asked.

Ruby looked pretty proud of herself. "Well, as the leader of this team, I thought long and hard about this decision." She stated.

"We put it to a vote." Weiss said, popping in to remind her, straight-faced.

"Yes, so, but I decided that we should put it to a vote." Ruby nervously tried to backtrack.

"We voted for Weiss and Yang." Blake answered for her.

"I will happily represent Team RWBY." Weiss said, curtsying.

"Yeah, we're going to kick some butt!" Yang said, pounding her fists together.

Emerald laughed at this. "Awesome." She said, looking at Team SCRN. "What about you guys?" She asked.

Dante smirked and shrugged. "You're just gonna have to wait and see." He said.

Emerald frowned at this, but shook it off and smirked. "Well, if Mercury and I see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on ya." She said.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Yang said as she and Weiss returned Emerald's confident smirk with their own.

"Alright, well we're going to catch some more fights." Emerald said she turned and walked away from them as they do the same.

"Have fun!" Ruby said, waving her arm.

Emerald cheerfully gave her own wave. "See you later!" She said, then immediately dropped the act as she walked with Mercury and looked disgusted. Unknown to them, however, Ryu was on the other side of the tents from them, listening in on them.

"So, how are the new friends?" He asked.

"I hate them." Emerald grumbled, scowling.

"Orders are orders." He with a shrug.

"I just... how can they be so happy all the time!?" She demanded, mashing her fingers together angrily.

(Well, what do you have to be so miserable about all the time?) Ryu mentally countered

"Did you at least get what we want?" He asked.

"For Team RWBY, It's the heiress and the bimbo. Team SCRN wouldn't tell me. They wanted to keep it a surprise!" She said angrily, upset she failed her mission for Cinder.

Mercury even growled at this. "Those bastards were always good at getting on my nerves. At least we know who we're working with for Team RWBY." He said.

Ryu sighed at this. "Nothing too suspicious. All I can get from this is they want to prepare who they may face in the next round. Nothing wrong with that. Still, there's definitely something off about those two, along with the rest of their team." Ryu said, returning to his own team.

* * *

At one of the unassuming huts set up in the fairgrounds stringed with paper lanterns with a sign overhead saying" A Simple Wok", Teams RWBY and SCRN sat at the stools outside, ready to order.

Yang spoke to someone off-screen. "I'll have a bowl of the regular, please." She placed her order, a large bowl of noodles was quickly slide in front of her.

Ruby stared at Yang's meal. "Oohhh... I'll take the same." She ordered as well, a similar large bowl of noodles was slid in front of her as she clasped her hands in excitement.

"I'll have an order of seafood salad." Bayonetta said, a large plate full of crab and celery, coated with some sort of cheese sauce being placed in front of her.

Weiss looked concerned. "Do you have anything with a low-salt...?" She asked, before a large bowl of regular noodles instantly slid in front of her instead. "Um... okay..." She said awkwardly.

"Any chance you got some kind of pizza here?" Dante asked. In an instant, a pizza was placed in front of him. "Nice..." He said, about to dig in, before he realized. "Oh, come on! There's olives on this thing!" He grumbled.

"I'll have some sushi, please." Ryu said. In seconds, a large boat with a vast variety of sushi was put in front of him.

"Surprise me." Kratos said, before a rotisserie chicken was placed in front of him. "An excellent surprise." He said, tearing a leg off and tearing some meat from it.

Instead of saying anything, Blake merely gave a nod and smiled to the Shopkeep, who returned the gesture as he rushed through one door of his shop and came out the other to leave a large bowl of noodles topped with fish in front of her. Blake's eyes lit up as she drooled over her Weiss looked strangely at her teammate, she gladly offered her Schnee Dust Company credit card to the Shopkeep.

"Aw, Weiss! What's the occasion!?" Yang asked.

"Consider it thanks for sending me to the doubles round." Weiss said happily, but her joy was ruined when the card was flung back at her, and the annoyed Shopkeep pointed to his register as it beeped "DECLINED". "What?! How can my card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance!" She asked in disbelief.

Blake looked around panicked, she attempted to slowly slide her bowl closer to herself before the Shopkeep disappeared with her food, causing the poor girl to slump over in defeat. "Nooo!" She cried.

"I told you, sis. He's gonna try and make you call him one way or the other. I thought Winter would've told you that." Dante said, handing a card of his own the the cashier. A regular bank card, not his Schnee Dust Company card. "I figured how to get around it a long time ago. Take a bit of your allowance each month and open up a new account dad can't access." He explained. With money so tight in his last life, he made sure that in this life that when he had money, he wouldn't lose it.

"So, you do take some things seriously." Kratos said.

"Yeah, dude. If there's one thing I never joke around about, it's money." Dante said.

"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asked as Team JNPR approached the stand.

"We'd be honored if you did." Ryu said, waving over Nora, who happily sat beside him, followed shortly by the rest of the team.

Later on, the bowls were empty, and each student was either content with their meal or holding their stomachs sickly.

"Are you sure it's wise to have eaten before a fight?" Ren asked Pyrrha.

"Of course! It will give us energy!" Pyrrha said as the Shopkeep quickly gathered the bowls and vanished.

"It is important to get some energy before any strenuous action. But don't worry, you'll work off that stuffed feeling on the way back to the arena." Bayonetta said.

Nora simply gave a hearty belch. Ryu chuckled at this. "I think your belches are stronger than ever. Pretty soon, they'll shake all of Vale." He said.

"Aww, thank you!" Nora said, hugging him.

Jaune splayed himself over the counter. "If I barf, I'm blaming you." He said sickly, pointing at Pyrrha.

"Don't blame others for your shortsightedness, Jaune. You should've stopped before you started feeling sick. It isn't Pyrrha's fault." Kratos scolded.

"Y-yes, sir!" Jaune said in fear.

"Ooh!" Nora exclaimed, grinning evilly. "Aim at the enemy!" She said devilishly

"Nora, that's disgusting." Ren said, disapprovingly, before thinking. "But if you feel the urge..." He started.

"Why, Ren, I thought you were supposed to be the saint of your team." Ryu said in mock surprise.

"We all have our dark sides. If I recall, I wasn't the one beating up all the other kids in town." Ren countered, but Ryu simply smirked in pride at this.

"Well, we should be off." Pyrrha said, standing up from her stool.

"You'll do exceptionally as always." Kratos said supportively.

"So, you think you guys are ready?" Ruby asked.

"Of course! We've got a world-renowned fighter on our team, one's basically ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune, we trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and uh... Jaune!" Nora said as she gestured to each of her teammates.

"Are you gonna take that?" Ren asked Jaune.

"She's not wrong." He groaned.

To Jaune's surprise, though, Kratos put his hand on his shoulder "She is. I wouldn't have trained you all this time if I didn't believe you could handle it. And not only have you handled it, but you've excelled. You are no longer the lovable idiot stuck in the tree as his friends fight for their lives, Jaune. You are as much a warrior as the rest of us. I know it, they all know it. It's time for you and all the people who doubt you to know it." Kratos said awe-inspiringly.

"Wow... I never though you'd say that to me... Thank you, Kratos..." Jaune said, hugging him.

"You've got 5 seconds to let go of me." Kratos growled, Jaune quickly leaping back.

"A fine speech, brother." Pyrrha said, smiling proudly at her brother.

"Yeah, what he said, Jaune! No need to be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, we have no home left to go to, we'll be officially renamed Team Lose-iper!" She spoke quickly, her color slowly draining away as she got more worried, until her mad laughter turned into sobs as she slammed her head on the counter.

"So, yeah, we're feeling pretty good." Ren said, unperturbed.

Ryu put his hand on Nora's back. "It's okay, Nora. You're an incredible fighter. There's no way you'll lose here. And even if everyone else abandoned you, I'd always be there for you, even just to sit with you in the cafeteria if that's all you needed." Ryu said, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Oh, my hero!" She said, hugging him, but unlike Kratos, he happily returned this hug.

"Don't fret. If anything, we should be looking forward to a fight with actual guidelines, and not, well, ...murderers." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, don't sweat it, we've all faced way worse before." Yang said.

"Let's see. Grimm invasions, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath..." Blake listed, counting off the threats on her fingers.

"We're just that amazing." Bayonetta said.

"And that's all while were still in training! Oh, imagine what it would be like to graduate!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal." Weiss sarcastically mumbled to herself.

"It's okay, sis. After the fights, I'll take you to the bank and set you up your own account." Dante said.

"Would Team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immediately!" Port ordered over the intercom system.

"Yes! Like they were scheduled to, several minutes ago!" Oobleck added to Port's order.

"Well, it looks like this is it." Pyrrha said.

"Best of luck to you, my sister." Kratos said, before looking at the rest of Team JNPR. "Best of luck to all of you." He said.

"We'll all be rooting for you." Bayonetta said.

"Go get 'em!" Ruby said to Team JNPR as they walk away, Nora now walking on air and Jaune walking tall and proud.

"Break a leg out there, Nora!" Ryu called, before a horrible thought dawned on him. "NOT LITERALLY!" He called again.

* * *

Teams RWBY and SCRN entered the Coliseum through one of its tunnels and headed to their seats as Emerald and Mercury were seen walking behind them to do the same. Down in the field below, the scorched ground and cold plains were no more, and only a layer of white mechanics was left, with a central stage on which the two teams gathered.

"I wonder who's gonna win." Mercury asked as he found his seat with Emerald, munching on a large tub of popcorn.

"Tch. As if we didn't already know." Emerald scoffed.

Cinder walked up behind them, showing off her new outfit of jeans, an orange jacket, and sarashi bandages over her chest as she took an unpopped kernel from Mercury's bucket. "Oh, come now. Even if you know how the story ends, that doesn't make it any less fun to watch." She said as her eyes glowed with her fingertips and the kernel finally popped, which she was about to eat, but it was suddenly snatched from her hand by Neo's replacement. "Azula..." She growled.

"Don't assume anything, Cinder. Even the best laid plans can fail if someone is too sure of their victory. You should know this well. How many times has that girl with the sniper rifle already stopped you?" She taunted, eating the piece of popcorn.

"She never stopped me. I already had what I needed and decided to leave each time we fought. And if we ever fight again, it will be the last time." Cinder said, glaring at Ruby from across the stadium.

"Team JNPR of Beacon versus Team BRNZ of Shade!" Port announced over the cheering of the crowds.

As each team readied their poses, a circle of holographic roulettes started spinning frantically through various symbols and colors before finally landing on a green pine tree and gray thunderstruck mountain. With these random selections, half of the field opened to reveal a tree-filled forest, while the other raised a small rocky outcropping to fill in the circle. Jaune narrowed his eyes in concentration while Ruby "WHO-HOOOO"d loudly from her seat.

"Three, two, one, begin!" Port announced.

As the match started, each team leapt forward at the other, ready to begin fighting just as the scene cut to black.

* * *

 **AN: Finally! Hello, everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long, I've just swamped myself with work, trying to write like 5 different stories all at the same time, but here we go! I'm sorry for the delay, but hopefully I can get chapters out more regularly after this. And for those of you who are curious why Azula has entered the story and replaced Neo, remember our favorite mutli-colored, adorable mute has abandoned Cinder's faction in order to free Roman, alongside her sister. How will this effect the story? Honestly, hell if I know. But leave your thoughts in the reviews. Each one helps me work a little faster and make this story a little better.**


	28. The Other Guys

We see the familiar shot of Team JNPR readying themselves against their opponents in the Amity Colosseum, the mountains to their back and forest on the other side. A large holographic screen counted down with Port over the crowd's cheering.

"3... 2... 1..." Port counted down.

"Come on guys!" Jaune shouted, raising his sword.

"Good luck, Ren. I believe in you, Nora." Ryu said from the stands.

"Show me your training paid off, Jaune!" Kratos shouted. Jaune apparently heard this, as he flinched a bit.

"BEGIN!" Port announced.

All four members of JNPR charged forward, but only three fighters from BRNZ did the same; the beanie-wearing May Zedong turned around and headed into the trees, cocking her weapon. In the center of the field, leader Brawnz Ni delivered a knee kick to Pyrrha's shield that sent her skidding back, right before she blocked the claws on his fists with her xiphos. She jerked her sword away and made him leap back, just as the sniper jumped up into the branches of the forest with the bladed butt of her sniper rifle. Ren readied his StormFlower to attack Nolan Porfirio, who almost got blindsided by Nora's swing with Magnhild before he ducked under the attack and attempted to hit her with his cattle prod. The sniper girl finally took aim from her spot and managed to fire off two rounds near Ren, destroying the rocks behind him. Jaune managed to block the buzzsaw gloves of Roy Stallion with his own shield before he noticed the bullets flying and saw the glint of the gun in the leaves.

"R-R-Retreat!" Jaune screamed, wide-eyed as stumbled over his order.

"Good idea. Don't want to hang out in the open with a sniper." Jaune said.

Ren glanced back at his leader as a shot hit the ground by his feet. He and Nora started running back into the mountains as Jaune and Pyrrha covered their escape by blocking the bullets with their shields. The four leapt over a rocky outcropping for cover.

"What do we do?" Pyrrha called to Jaune as projectiles kept coming overhead.

Jaune looked over the edge to see the melee fighters closing in. "Spread out! Try to keep moving!" He ordered. His team followed this just as Brawnz landed a punch on Jaune's shield.

May got even higher in the tree and smiled from behind her scope as she looked at the fight below. Brawnz and Pyrrha continued to duke it out while Nolan slowly advanced on Ren when he slid into his path. The prod-wielding warrior looked back at the trees and nodded to his hidden ally, who shot at Ren's feet again and made him jump around trying to dodge them. Just as he landed, Nolan hit him upside the head with his weapon and was able to miss the retaliatory kick with another blow to the knee and a final hit to the chest using the business end of his prod. Electricity shot through Ren's body before he collapsed to the ground beside his childhood friend.

"Ren!" Nora shouted worriedly.

Scowling, Nora took a swing at Nolan, who promptly dodged it and again unleashed his weapon's power into her corset, though this caused a quite different reaction from the grinning redhead.

"Oh, that poor fool." Ryu said, shaking his head.

"Oh-ho! Looks like one of my favorite students, Nora Valkyrie, is charging up to use her Semblance!" Port said eagerly from his spot on the giant hologram screen overhead with Oobleck beside him.

"What?" Nolan asked worriedly, looking up at the screen with a panicked look.

"Yes, Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles! This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!" Oobleck explained.

"What?!" Nolan asked, horrified, turning back to his opponent.

Nolan finally took his cattle prod away, but the damage was done: Nora flexed her arms as pink lightning was seen coursing through her body. Nolan attempted to lift his hands up in surrender, but thunder started sparking from Nora's Aura as she rushed at him. There was a split-second where Nolan's horrified face and Nora's victorious smile were seen close-up on the sides of the screens before the hammer hit head-on and Nolan bounced back across the field, crashing through a rock and staying there when he's stopped moving.

Jaune looks back at the mountaintop on his team's side as a dark storm cloud appears over it, crackling with lightning. He looks over at his energized teammate.

"Nora! Get to the mountain!" Jaune ordered.

"You got it!" Nora said with a salute as she sprinted off to start her climb.

"Ren! Try and distract the sniper!" Jaune ordered again.

As another shot nearly missed his head, Ren slouched. "Sure... Why not." He sarcastically replied.

"He is the best choice: he's the fastest on their team and the hardest for a sniper to hit." Bayonetta said.

The remaining three members of JNPR run forward as Nora hops up and rapidly ascends the mountain. Roy throws the saws from his gloves into Jaune's shield, which still manages to bend the metal and slam the leader's own defense in his face before the weapons return back to their master. Pyrrha gets up close to him, and he delivers a series of spinning swings with his arms into Akoúo̱ as Jaune shakes off his disorientation and charges into battle yet again.

"Yeah! Go get 'em, Jaune!" Ruby cheered from her seat in the stands with the rest of Team RWBY.

"Well, he's certainly improved." Weiss noted.

"Of course. He was training with me and my sister." Kratos said.

"Yeah, but he ain't got nothing on Pyrrha!" Yang said.

Back in the fight, Yang's statement was proven true with Pyrrha taking on both Brawnz and Roy, delivering a kick to one as she deftly dodged and blocked the discs of the other, throwing her javelin to distract the latter while she somersaulted back to use both feet in landing a blow on Brawnz. May attempted to shoot Ren while he dashed his way toward her position, leaping out of the way of her shots, the flying saws, and even sliding under Pyrrha before he ran at Nolan, weapons blasting until he was close enough to start swinging his blades away. He ducked and deflected each of the cattle prod's attempted hits until he managed to hold it in the pistol's blades and double kicked his opponent, giving him the opportunity to catch Nolan's weapon in his own as the prod was forced behind Nolan's head and left him trapped. Ren hid behind the teammate of the sniper, who stopped aiming at him and lifted her barrel up to another target.

Ren realized who the target was as he kept the struggling Nolan in place. "Nora!" He called back to her. Ryu's eyes also widened in fear.

Jaune caught Brawnz's claws with his blade and looked back as the unaware and vulnerable Nora lifted herself higher and higher to the top. "Pyrrha! Up!" He ordered again.

His partner rushed towards him, dodge rolling to avoid a launched saw until she bounded over Brawnz and landed on Jaune's shield. He managed to throw her into the air with her own shield raised to block the kill-shot aimed at Nora.

Ryu sighed in relief at this. "Thank you, Jaune, Pyrrha, for protecting her." Ryu said.

This gave the orange-haired girl just enough time to reach the peak, and she lifted her hammer up as a bolt of lightning hit the weapon directly. She changed it back into grenade-launching form and popped the front off to reveal six explosives that shot out over the field in a heart-shaped formation onto the sniper. The poor girl barely had time to gawk before she leapt over to a nearby tree just as the one she was in went up in pink flames, leaving only a giant scorch mark billowing smoke to block out the coughing sniper's view. She jumped down from the branches just as her three teammates looked up and behind them at Nora coming down on them like a meteor, slamming her hammer into the ground and sending the enemies back at the feet of their disoriented teammate.

"This is it, guys! Let's finish 'em with team attacks!" Jaune shouted, raising his sword. "Ren! Nora! Flower Power!" He called out.

"Wait, what?" Nora asked.

"F-Flower Power." Jaune lowered his blade as he looked back at his befuddled team. His lost friends still shrugged "That's your team attack name!" He continued.

"Since when?" Ren asked.

"Are... Are they really doing this?" Bayonetta asked, struggling to believe what she was seeing... and to contain her laughter.

"Guys, we've been over this!" Jaune whined, gesturing at his teammates, not noticing the other team getting up, ready to fight again. "Flower Power is Ren and Nora! Ren brings a flower, Nora brings the power!" He explained.

"He can't be serious... THEY can't be serious..." Kratos said furiously, his eye twitching in rage.

"How do I bring a flower?" Ren asked, rubbing the back of his head with one of his guns.

"No, silly, not A flower! Flour, like in baking!" Nora explained.

"Why would I bring that?" Ren asked.

"I- Uh- No, it's your symbol!" Jaune corrected.

"Sooo, what are we?" Pyrrha asked.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune whined.

"Sorry! I just want to make sure it's clearly defined." She explained.

"Maybe they should've gone over this BEFORE THE FIGHT." Dante said, facepalming.

Jaune tried to remain patient while Team BRNZ looked even more confused than their opponents. "Pyrrha, you and I are Arkos. It's that thing when we take our shields? Remember?" He explained.

"Arkos?" She questioned.

"Yeah! It's our names put together!" Jaune explained.

"Right, no, I get it..." She said, although her tone said something different.

"What, do you not like it?" Jaune asked.

"I don't..." Kratos said angrily.

"No, no! It's... good?" Pyrrha said, unsurely.

"Mmm, I sense hesitation." Nora said

"Hey!" Brawnz finally called out to them. Team JNPR looked back with a collective "Huh?". "What do you think you're doing!?" He demanded.

"Trying to have a team meeting, thank you very little!" Jaune hissed back as if it's extremely obvious.

"Yeah! Team ears only!" Nora snapped, pointing to her own ears to demonstrate.

Brawnz looked at his shrugging teammates. "WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT!" He yelled again.

Jaune turned back to him furiously "AND WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION! WHAT DON'T YOU GET ABOUT THAT!?" He screamed back even louder than Brawnz.

"Um, Jaune?" Pyrrha interrupted.

"Yes, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked annoyed.

"I think that he means that we're all in the middle of a fight." Pyrrha reminded him, the sound of the crowds around them come back in full volume as Jaune remembered the real situation.

"I'm starting to question why he became the leader." Ryu said.

"I'm losing all faith I had in him." Kratos said.

"Ugh..." Jaune sighed, putting his sword up to his forehead in exasperation. "Nora, just... hit them with the hammer." He said.

"Got it." Nora said as she gave one more evil smirk.

"Wait, what?!" Brawn asked fearfully.

Before anyone could react, Nora jumped over in front of Team BRNZ, then brought her hammer around to collide with all four screaming fighters as they soared straight into the force-field surrounding the arena's rim, sliding down to the ground with arms and legs in bent positions they really shouldn't be.

"And with that, it appears Team JNPR wins by knockout, literally! ...Can someone go make sure they're okay?" Port asked.

"And bring a big spatula." Ryu said.

"And there's another win for Beacon." Dante said.

"Of course. Never doubt my sister." Kratos said.

"Or my dear childhood friends." Ryu added, looking at Ren and especially Nora.

"And the other one." Bayonetta said, looking at the still-slouching Jaune.

* * *

At the appropriately-named Crow Bar, a gray-haired figure in a tattered red cloak was sitting at the counter with a collection of empty glasses to his side. He took a swig from another drink as he looked up at the screen above, displaying an image of the victors with the caption "Team JNPR Defeats Team BRNZ!".

"Huh, those kids weren't half bad!" Bartender asked as he wiped the surface of a glass in his hands.

The familiar stranger merely let out a "Meh" as he raised the beverage back to his lips."

* * *

The scene flashed to a blue background with white particles gathering into the united tournament symbol of the four kingdoms as it revolved to the left of Oobleck, back in the announcer's box.

"Ah, well, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one, but this next one will have them on the edge of their seats!" Oobleck announced with an image of Team BRNZ at the moment they all felt the force of Nora's hammer.

Port displayed a picture of the four new challengers to his right. "Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite, but these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far! I'm of course talking about... Team SSSN!" He announced as the camera cut to the view of a few spectators in the stands holding up signs with each male's face decorated with hearts, the exception being a simple image of a certain set of abs. "Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and although he'll be representing the Mistral Academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him along!" Port added as Team SSSN walked into the center of the field, waving to the cheering crowds as they do so.

"Hey, Weiss, it's your boyfriend." Dante said, nudging her with his elbow and pointing to Neptune.

"Oh, please. He wishes he was my boyfriend." Weiss said, holding Ruby's hand.

Neptune waved until he spotted his four beautiful opponents, which caused him to develop a confident attitude. "Ladies." He addressed them.

"What a fool." Weiss scoffed.

"Alright, girls, try and remember: hands above the waist." Neptune said as teams stood on opposite sides from one another

"Ignore him, for he... Yeah, he's dumb." Sun apologized, grasping Neptune's arm.

"Didn't really work for you, did it, Sun?" Dante asked.

Neptune simply gave a sparkling wink to the disgusted females as the holographic roulette showed up again, landing on a yellow image of sunny dunes and stone formations until the real thing emerged from below. A small circular light even appeared overhead, causing most of the crowd to don sunglasses.

"Alright! Home field advantage!" Nebula laughed as she looked back at their selection.

"Don't get too cocky! That's my turf, too!" Sun warned.

"I hope I don't get sand in my shoes." Scarlet said, looking down at his attire as the roulette began again on the other side.

Neptune leaned over to his teammate. "Be cool, man." He whispered.

"How did they even make it into combat school?" Kratos asked, shaking his head.

"Hey! The ocean!" Dew announced when the spinning images stopped on a blue symbol of tidal waves.

"Huh?" Neptune asked as he turned and saw the random pic for himself, eyes dilated at his goggles reflected the terrifying image, a slight whimper escaping him.

"Uhh, what's wrong with Neptune?" Ruby asked her friends and teammates.

"Oh, no." Blake said, her face in her hand, unable to look as the sandy beach and pirate shipwreck rose into the arena while Neptune stiffened up with fear. "Neptune's ... afraid of the water." She confides to a surprised Yang.

"You CAN'T be serious." Team SCRN said together.

"3, 2, 1, BEGIN!" Oobleck announced.

As soon as the word was said, Neptune zoomed through the enemy team and skidded up the mountain behind them. "SERIOUSLY?!" Bayonetta said in disbelief.

"Neptune, what are you doing?!" Sage demanded, calling out to his fleeing teammate.

"Uh, you know, just gaining the higher ground!" Neptune made an excuse, now standing on a ledge near the top of the formation, yelling down to his friends.

"On the enemy's side?!" Sun asked exasperatedly.

"They would never expect it!" Neptune said.

"He's not wrong." Dew said, turning to her allies.

"Open fire!" Nebula ordered.

Team NDGO went forward into their turf as Team SSSN followed them, Sage with his sword raised and Scarlet having ditched his coat. He came upon Octavia Ember emerging out from a nearby arch and tried to slice her with his cutlass. She ducked under the swing and continues sliding away, past the middle of Dew and Sage getting ready to rumble. Sage hefted his giant blade overhead, only to get knocked back by Dew's spear. He glanced up in time to see the blonde wave her weapon over the sand to create three small twisters that kicked up dust in Sage's face. He looked around as they surround him, but didn't realize the danger until they coalesced into one big tornado that picked him up off the ground. With his weapon torn out of his grip and screaming in panic, he was totally helpless as the winds threw him and his blade out of the arena.

"And NDGO gains the advantage!" Oobleck announced as Sage slammed the ground with fists upon seeing his image now crossed out on the holographic board.

"That didn't take long." Dante said.

Octavia slid in front of Sun and Scarlet, who readied themselves to fight her just as she spun her sword around and produced a wave of flame that kicked up dust in their faces. Sun managed to jump out of the cloud just in time to call for his replacement in fighting the redhead.

"Neptune!" Sun called.

Seeing his leader run from the duel, Neptune leapt down from his position and cocked his gun. Octavia attempted to use another fire attack to blind Neptune, but he simply put his goggles on and fired a bolt as his opponent, who blocked it with her blade right before Sun leapt out of nowhere and delivered a neck-snapping kick to her face. Now furious, Octavia brought her blade into Sun's Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in its staff form as he spun it all around his body while hitting several parts of hers. He ended it with a jab that knocked Octavia on her back in the sand.

"Oh! And we're down to 3-on-3!" Port announced.

"Much more respectable." Ryu said.

Sun looked at Neptune fighting with Gwen Darcy as she circled him with her flying knives and Scarlet attempting to go weapon-to-weapon with Dew. She merely called upon another sandy cyclone to lift Scarlet up, and he revolved around the spiral until it launched him over the shipwreck. It seems like he was about to be eliminated at well, but he extended his arms and managed to dive onto a part of the mast, almost losing his balance once the pole was under his feet. He eventually found his balance right when Nebula closed in and launched an arrow with her crossbow at the mast, using it to jump right up to where Scarlet was. She folded up the sides of her weapon into a blade to cross swords with her opponent, the both of them ducking and missing or getting hit by the hilts until Nebula slammed her metal over Scarlet's and forced him to lean back on the post. Luckily, he managed to get his sword back out from the trap and feigned a swing at Nebula's feet before knocking into her with his elbow, causing the NDGO leader to fall into the sand below.

"Scarlet and Sun may be their only competent teammates." Kratos said.

From his position, Scarlet saw Gwen continue to throw her knives, and he smirked before whipping out his pistol and shooting the hilt guard as a grappling hook to get her by the ankle.

"Gotcha!" Scarlet said.

He used the cord to lift Gwen into the air while he slowly came down to the ground, only to land directly beneath her as she attempted to protect her modesty while knives started raining down from her dress.

"And there goes a competent teammate." Dante said as Scarlet looked up in horror at the knives falling towards him.

Scarlet quickly adopted a pose that somehow allowed him to miss every single blade that came crashing down into the sand at his feet, which he gave a sigh of relief to.

"Lucky." Team SCRN said all at once.

His luck didn't hold when Dew leapt near Sun, causing the monkey Faunus to find his new improvised weapons in the form of two coconuts he knocked out the palm tree beside him, which he threw at his opponent only to get them knocked right back at him, now spontaneously catching fire as they traveled. Sun narrowly missed them both, but Scarlet got one straight to the face, and the other landed in a place that made him squeal in unimaginable pain while dropping his Aura levels into elimination.

 **"OHHH!"** Dante, Ryu and Kratos exclaimed in horror and sympathy, crossing their legs.

"I don't even have balls and that hurt to watch." Bayonetta said with a wince.

"Nuts!" Sun sighed. He looked from Scarlet to Dew as she summoned a few water blue tornadoes that he tried to dodge around. "Uh, Neptune? Could use some help, buddy!" He called.

"Uh, you know, uh, it would probably be better if you came over here! Yeah, I can guard this... sector! We're in lockdown mode!" Neptune called back to his leader with his excuses.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing to lock down!" Sun asked as he look around infuriated as Nebula managed to shoot the cord holding Gwen up in the background.

"Lockdown! Right! You got it!" Neptune "confirmed".

"If any of you ever act like this in a fight, I WILL shoot you." Dante told his team.

"I'd shoot myself before I ever acted like that." Kratos said, Ryu and Bayonetta nodding in agreement.

Sun jumped out from Dew's attempt to pierce him with her spear. "Dude, I know you're afraid of water, but you gotta- Help!" He called to Neptune. He stopped yelling when a blue shot knocked an attacking Dew out of midair and into the water.

"There! I helped! Are you happy now!?" Neptune demanded, pausing for a moment. "Also, I am not afraid of water, and I have no idea what you are talking about!" He called back.

Dew managed to get back up as Nebula and Gwen joined their comrade, lifting their weapons and ready to fight once more.

"NEPTUNE!" Sun shouted.

"Okay, fine! Just get out of the water!" Neptune shouted back.

Neptune jumped over to a spot near the coastal line next to Sun, and he unfolded his weapon into its trident form before tip-toeing forwards and, eyes closed, plunged the sparking prongs into the water. The energy surged through the deep until the remaining members of NDGO were electrocuted and knelt in the water, smoking and defeated with the sound of the buzzer.

"And with that, Team SSSN moves on to the doubles round!" Port announced while Sun and Neptune chest bumped each other in celebration. "You know what I call that victory?" He asked Oobleck as if he was setting up a joke.

"Shocking?" Oobleck guessed.

"No, well earned. What you said is stupid." Port said as Oobleck turned away, frowning.

"Well earned my ass. They got lucky." Kratos said.

"Yeah, Neptune nearly cost them the fight, even if he did win it in the end." Dante said.

"Poor Oobleck. I liked his joke. Certainly better than most of Yang's." Bayonetta teased.

"Hey!" Yang snapped, lightly punching Bayonetta in the arm

* * *

"Now that was a match!" The Bartender whistled at the screen, back in his establishment with its one customer.

"Heh, that was a mess!" The man said with a light slur in his words.

"Come on man, you didn't like them, the Vale kids, or any of the rounds before that? What fight are you here for?" The Bartender asked.

"Hey, come on, I liked the one where the girl turned into bats." The man said, before he saw an aircraft with elegant ribbons flying from its wings behind him. "That one." He said as he finished his drink as the world swayed with the happily inebriated Huntsman until he slammed the glass down on the counter and tossed a few Lien alongside it. "Happy Vytal Festival!" He said.

The Bartender watched as his sole patron staggered away and put down the glass he just finished cleaning, only to knock it down and shatter it when he reached for another one "Aw, gee darn it!" He whined.

* * *

Ruby leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Aw, that was so close!" She said.

"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round!" Yang said.

"Stranger things have happened." Ryu said.

Blake looked down in the arena where Sun and Neptune were dancing like fools before the fellow Faunus gave her a special double-gun gesture with a wink. "Emphasis on 'dork'." Blake said, rolling her eyes.

"That concludes the matches for today. Please leave the Coliseum IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!" Oobleck said over the sound system, suddenly screaming at the end for whatever reason.

"That man needs a volume control option." Kratos said.

"Come on, let's go congratulate 'em." Yang said after they all stops flinching from the unexpected volume change.

The two teams got up from their seats and started to head out just as the same ribbon-adorned craft passed over the Colosseum, causing Weiss and Dante to stop in their tracks, causing Ruby to bounce off of Weiss as Bayonetta stopped and looked at Dante. "Uh, what are you viewing?" Ruby asked.

"Dante? Something wrong, baby?" She asked.

"She's here!" Weiss said with a strain in her voice as the Schnee heiress' face displayed a mix of joy and anxiety.

"Wait, what? Who?" Bayonetta asked, looking between the siblings.

"Our sister. Winter is coming." Dante said dramatically as the screen cut to black.

* * *

 **A/N: That's another chapter done. I know what you're thinking: Why didn't I have Team SCRN react to Team RWBY's fight, that would've given me a reason to keep it in. I didn't think about it at first, but thinking afterwards, I wouldn't have had much commentary besides generic cheers for the fight, anyway. Also,** **I forgot to mention this at the end of the last chapter, but for those of you curious about the swamp stage Team SCRN fought Team DMCS in, there were two more stages Monty originally planned for the stadium that, for whatever reason, were never shown: a swamp stage and a zero-gravity stage. So... there. Hope that clears that up.**


	29. Family Matters

The scene opened to a shot of Beacon Academy's courtyard at dusk, with Weiss, Dante, Bayonetta and Ruby running up the main avenue towards the docking bays.

"Weiss! What is the big deal!? Who is it? Who is she!?" Ruby asked, running to catch up with her partner.

"Dante! Slow down! I haven't seen you this excited since the pizza party we had for saving Vale!" Bayonetta said, also having trouble keeping up with her boyfriend.

The Schnee twins stopped and smiled at the sight of... "Winter." Weiss said happily.

"Can't remember the last time we saw her. To think she's here now..." Dante said fondly.

The camera then cut behind the four of them watching Winter Schnee, escorted by crimson-colored Atlas Soldiers and Atlesian Knight-200's as she exited her airship.

"Wait... Your sister?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, wonderful. As if Weiss wasn't enough." Bayonetta said.

"Don't worry, she's not that bad." Dante said.

"Winter!" Weiss called to her sister, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Yo, sis!" Dante called with a similar method. The four then ran up to the elder Schnee as she turned to see them.

"Winter! "I'm so happy to see you! Oh..." Weiss said happily, before remembering formality and quickly curtsied. "Your presence honors us." She said.

"Nice to see you again, sis." Dante said casually, earning him an elbow from Weiss.

Of course, having grown up with Dante, she'd long since accepted his casual nature and actually enjoyed it, finding it a relief from her often strict, formal day to day. "It's fine, Weiss. We're family. No need to be so formal." Winter said as she looked around while she approached them. "Beacon... It's been a long time. The air feels... different." She said.

"I mean it is fall, so, eh, it's probably colder." Ruby said.

Weiss punched Ruby in the shoulder, causing her to gasp in pain before turning back to her sibling. "So, what are you doing here?" Weiss asked, not noticing Dante struggling to restrain Bayonetta from trying to shoot her for hitting Ruby.

"Classified." Winter stated strictly.

"Oh, right. Well, how long are you staying?" Weiss asked.

"Classified." Winter stated again.

"Of course." Weiss said, nodding and smiling in understanding.

"Well, nice to see you haven't changed much." Dante said.

"I could certainly say the same to you, little brother." She said.

It was quiet after this. Ruby looked pensively around in the silence. "Well... this is nice... I think." She said shyly.

"You haven't talked in months, you... don't want to say any-" Bayonetta started, before...

"You're going to love it here! I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas!" Weiss explains excitedly. "Vale, too. The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it!? I-" She continued.

"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its... bureaucracy. That is not why I came." Winter interrupted.

"Right! I'm sorry!" Weiss apologized.

"Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle. But it appears that I have no choice in the matter." Winter said harshly.

"But, we won!" Weiss said, puzzled.

"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory. I counted at least three strikes missed." Winter said, Weiss flinching.

"Jeez, come on, sis. A win's a win. We're dealing with people we've never met, much less fought before, you can't expect us to do everything perfect." Dante said.

"Maybe not perfect, but certainly better than the two of you handled it. You were clearly struggling against that Mercer fellow. You've been slacking on your training, haven't you?" She asked.

"Hey, the guy's built to adapt. Hard to beat someone who can turn into steel." Dante said.

Winter sighed at this. "I suppose that's true. I admit, I found myself struggling to think of a strategy I would use as well." She admitted.

The camera then cut to a side view of the group as Winter turned to her security. "Leave us." She ordered. The AK-200s obeyed, walking two steps backwards into formation as she sighed and smiled a little more warmly at Weiss and Dante. "How have you been?" She asked.

"Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking. I'm actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class! And the rest of my studies are going wonderfully, too! I'm-" Weiss boasted.

Winter attempted to slap Weiss in the head, but Dante caught her wrist. "Easy there, sis. It wouldn't look good if an Atlas Specialist arrived at Beacon and her first action was to smack a student upside the head." He told her.

"Cheeky brat." She told him, before looking to Weiss. "And I don't recall asking about your ranking, you boob! I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?" She asked.

"Well, there's Ruby." She said, gesturing to her leader.

"Heh, boob." Ruby giggled.

"I see. So this is the leader you wrote of. How appropriately... underwhelming." Winter said judgingly.

"Uh... Thank you!" Ruby said unsurely.

"It wasn't a compliment. And it certainly wasn't necessary." Bayonetta said angrily.

"Oh and you must be this Cereza my brother spoke of. More commonly known as 'Bayonetta'. An... interesting nickname." Winter said.

"I've grown quite attached to it over the years." Bayonetta explained.

"Then greetings to both of you, Ruby Rose and Cereza Xiao Long. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my brother and sister." Winter said.

"Well, they certainly are interesting. Your brother in particular." Bayonetta said, leaning against Dante, Winter looking on awkwardly.

"Oh! Uh, yes, of course!" Ruby said as she attempted to salute and curtsy. "The honor is in my... court!" She said, nearly losing her balance with this gesture, waving her arms until she got back up.

"I have business with the General and your Headmaster. But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?" Winter asked.

"Really?" Weiss asked.

"Yes. I wish to inspect them and make sure that they are up to my personal standards." Winter confirmed as she and Weiss began walking towards the Academy, followed by the androids.

"Of course. Just so you're aware, the bunk beds only look unstable." Weiss assured.

"Bunk beds?" Winter questioned.

"We'll catch up with you to later, okay?" Dante asked, kissing Bayonetta on the cheek, before hurrying after his sisters.

"O-okay." Bayonetta said, a bit shocked. "Oh well. It is his sister. And he hasn't seen her in months. If I was away from you that long, I'd take every chance I got to spend time with you." Bayonetta said, looking at Ruby.

"Yeah! Same here!" Ruby said as she waved goodbye behind them, while Bayonetta simply watched. "I'll catch up- I mean, I will... reconvene with you both... at a later... " Ruby started, before she paused with her hand on her head, wracking her brain for the right word. "juncture!" She finished, raises her finger, before stepping out of sight to the left. "At a juncture. Yeah." She said.

"Family. Always unpredictable." Bayonetta said, walking back to the school.

The camera cut to Weiss, Dante, Winter and the androids walking towards the courtyard, before shifting to first-person view, where a certain someone dizzily snuck up behind the AK-200s and promptly decapitated one, before kicking its head towards the group.

"Hey!" A man called out, the group turned around to see the man who was previously seen in the Crow Bar. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen!" He said to Winter as he tossed the decapitated machine aside.

one of remaining automated soldiers advanced, rifle raised. "Halt!" Winter ordered.

Dante tilted his head, looking at the man. "That guy looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?" He wondered, before remembering a family picture Bayonetta had shown him on her scroll, with her, Ruby, Yang, their father Taiyang and their uncle... "Qrow." He said.

"Excuse me! Do you have any idea who you are talking to!?" Weiss demanded as she angrily walked up to the offender's face.

Qrow placed hand on Weiss' face. "Sssshhh. Not you." He said as he pushed her out of his way as he moved forward.

"Hey!" Weiss snapped.

Dante and Winter both glared at this. (Sorry, Bayonetta, but I might have to kick your uncle's ass.) Dante thought.

"You." Qrow said as he looked at the irritated Winter as he clarified. A raven was seen perched on a lamp post before flying off and circling past the group. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. I guess you're here, too." He said.

"I'm standing right before you." Winter said.

"So it would seem." Qrow squinted through his hazy state of mind.

Bayonetta worked her way forward through the forming crowd. "What is going on here?" She asked, breaking through the crowd and seeing the stand-off before her. "Uncle Qrow? What's he doing here?" She asked, before noticing the broken robot and piecing together the situation. "Getting himself in trouble." She sighed.

"You realize you just destroyed Atlas Military property." Winter pointed out.

"Oh, oh I'm sorry. See, I mistook this for some sort of... sentient garbage." Qrow sarcastically apologized as he looked at his surroundings.

"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow." Winter said as she walked over to face Qrow.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Weiss asked.

"Geez, you Atlas Specialists think you're so special, don't you?" Qrow taunted.

"It's in the title." Winter stated.

"Well, you know what you really are? A bunch of sellouts. Just like your boss." Qrow jabbed once again.

"I'm not sure what you think you're implying, but I've heard enough." Winter warned.

"Oh I heard, too. I heard ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin." Qrow said.

"Ozpin?" Weiss asked.

"What's he talking about?" Dante asked, looking at Winter.

"Dante, Weiss, it's time for you to go." Winter said as she shoved her siblings aside.

"What-" Weiss asked.

"Winter, think about this." Dante said.

"Listen to big sister, you two. She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is going to protect all of us, huh?" Qrow teased.

"If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" Winter snapped as she drew her sword.

"Alright then..." Qrow said, slicking back his hair. "Come take it." He said, reaching for his sword.

Dante and Bayonetta looked at each other, somehow managing to spot each other in the crowd and nodded, Dante using a time dilation glyph and Bayonetta activating Witch Time.

The square cleared before Winter charged at Qrow, separating her swords into two and preparing to attack Qrow with a cross slash as Qrow swung his own sword down on her. However, he found his sword locked between the curved blades of Rakshasa as Winter found her own swords impeded by Rebellion, Dante holding his sister back as Bayonetta kept her uncle at bay.

"Dante!? What is the meaning of this?! Remove yourself at once!" Winter snapped.

"At ease, sis. Chill out. What would the general say if he saw you picking a fight with a civilian?" Dante questioned, Winter gasping in realization at this and stopping her advance.

"Bayonetta?" Qrow said surprised.

"Really, Uncle Qrow? Getting yourself in trouble, again? If you keep this up, I don't think we'll be able to let you out in public anymore." Bayonetta teased.

Qrow chuckled a bit at this. "Smartmouth." He said, leaning back and pulling his sword back, returning it to his back.

Mercury and Azula were seen walking in the crowd when they witnessed the event in progress. "Huh?" Mercury questioned worriedly as he noticed one of the combatants.

"This is a problem." Azula said, sighing. "Cinder needs to know about this." She said, wincing as if saying these words hurt her before the two ran off from the family squabble.

"SCHNEE!" General Ironwood suddenly called.

Winter looked behind her to see General Ironwood standing behind her, with Penny behind him. "General Ironwood, sir!" Winter addressed him at about face.

"What in the world is going on here?" Ironwood asked as he approached Winter with Penny by his side.

"Well-" Winter started.

"The drunk guy with with the bad hair picked a fight and destroyed one of your robots." Dante explained.

"Hey!" Qrow said, angry about the jab at his hair.

"Dante!" Winter said both harshly and quietly.

"What? He said Schnee. He didn't specify which." Dante said.

"I should've figured." Ironwood said, glaring at Qrow.

"However, your precious specialist here was the one who presented the challenge, drew her weapon and attacked first." Bayonetta added.

"Is that right?" Ironwood asked, looking at Winter as she searched for words, only to realize Bayonetta was right. She looked down in shame. "And you." He said to Qrow, who pointed to himself in mock confusion. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"I could be asking you the same thing." Qrow countered.

"I-" Ironwood started.

"Now, now, everyone." Ozpin said, intervening beside Glynda. Whatever altercation may have happened here, it seems to be resolved now. Nothing more seems to be happening around here. You can all move along now." He said as he swirled his cocoa.

"Break it up, everyone! Nothing more to see here." Goodwitch said.

"Let's go." Ironwood said, turning and leaving with Winter and Penny, who noticed Ruby and quietly waved to her, while Ruby waved back.

Ruby then turned her attention back to... "Uncle Qrow!" Ruby screamed as she latched onto Qrow's arm, which he stretched out to the side, lifting Ruby into the air as if she was hanging off a tree branch. "Hi." She said happily, kicking her legs adorably. "It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me!?" She asked hopefully.

"Nope." He said as they share a grin as he patted his niece's head.

"It's good to see you again, Uncle." Bayonetta said.

"Hey, Bayo. Saw your match earlier today. You did good out there. You caught me by surprise a few times." He said.

"I aim to impress." She says.

"Qrow!" Ozpin called, the Huntsman turned to look at the headmaster as Ruby dropped from his arm. "A word, please." He said.

"I think I'm in trouble." Qrow said to the girls, discreetly.

"You did almost mess up our courtyard." Ruby said.

"I don't think you can go anywhere without getting in trouble." Bayonetta teased.

"Guilty as charged." Qrow chuckled as he winked and gave each niece a fist bump. "Catch ya later, kid." He said to Ruby, taking a few steps away, before turning back. "Oh and Bayonetta, we'll definitely have to talk some more later. I'd like to hear about those new tricks of yours I saw in the match. They're really out of this world." He said knowingly as he walked off to join the others.

Weiss walked up beside Ruby, arms crossed. "And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense." She said.

"You're just mad because you're sister's in trouble!" Ruby said.

"Well, so is your uncle!" Weiss countered, although Ruby's smirk said otherwise.

"Like I said, he's always in trouble. At this point, he's used to it." Bayonetta said.

"Good thing this is Winter's first incident. I doubt she'll be in too much trouble." Dante said.

"Speaking of trouble, you were willing to ditch me to spend time with your sisters. So, you'd better find a way to make it up to me." Bayonetta warned him.

"Oh, boy. how do I always get myself in trouble with girls?" He wondered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kratos and Ryu were in their dorm, Kratos on his scroll while Ryu checked police records for any news of a certain bowler hat-wearing criminal. "Are you sure? There's been no reports about Roman being back on the streets or organizing any heists?" Kratos asked.

 _"Unfortunately, no. Of course, it only makes sense. He just got out of prison. He must be laying low for now. He'd be an idiot to jump right back into crime and risk getting arrested again."_ Izaya explained on the other end. _  
_

Kratos growled at this. "Fine. Just keep an ear out and call me if you hear anything." Kratos told him, hanging up.

"I don't understand it. He was being held on the General's personal airship. How could he possibly have gotten away?" Ryu asked.

"Someone must've broken him out. But who... and how?" Kratos asked.

* * *

However, unknown to Kratos, Izaya hung up and looked up at Celty, who stood in front of him with Neo and Roman sitting on a couch behind them, Neo hugging Roman while happily kicking her feet as Roman just sat there, smiling at her. "I hope you realize you owe me. Keeping secrets from not only the police and the military, but even Mistral's champion, Kratos. I'm a big fan of his, so lying to him and disappointing him really doesn't sit well with me, so whatever you have to offer, it better be worth my while..." Izaya told her.

* * *

The scene shifted to Ozpin's office late at night. Ironwood was waiting with his arms crossed while Winter was impatiently pacing about. Suddenly, a smirking Qrow, accompanied by Goodwitch and Ozpin, arrived in the elevator.

"What were you thinking!?" Winter demanded.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood snapped.

"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself." Qrow taunted as he pulled out flask at the three entered the room.

"While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation." Goodwitch said.

"He was drunk!" Winter retorted.

"He's always drunk!" Goodwitch countered. The four turned to Qrow to see him drinking from a flask. His eyes widened when he noticed them staring. He held the flask out to the side, looking at it awkwardly before grimacing.

Ozpin stared at Qrow in shock, then sighed and sat down. "Qrow, why are you here?" Ozpin asked, annoyed.

"You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!" Ironwood scolded.

"I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy!" Qrow snapped.

"General." Winter corrected.

"Whatever. You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here." Qrow said ominously.

"We know." Ironwood said as he leaned against Ozpin's desk.

"Oh! Oh, you know! Well, thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!" Qrow said angrily.

"Qrow-" Ironwood exhaled.

"Communication's a two-way street, pal. You see this?" Qrow snapped as he pulled out his Scroll and pointed to it. "That's the SEND button." He said.

"They had reason to assume you'd been compromised." Winter explained.

"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here." He countered. "Seriously, who invited her?" He asked, pointing to Winter.

After a moment of silence, Ironwood spoke. "Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back at my ship." He told Winter without looking at her.

"But sir!" Winter argued, looking surprised.

"Winter. Leave." Ironwood ordered again.

"Yes sir." Winter complained, saluting Ironwood. She then turned on her heel and gave the winking Qrow a dirty look as she exited via the elevator.

"Go on." Ironwood said as he gestured to Qrow.

"Your little infiltrator isn't just another pawn. They're the one responsible for Autumn's condition." Qrow explained as he took a drink from his flask once more.

"What?" Goodwitch asked.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about!" He explained, getting up in Ironwood's face. "It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn!?" He demanded.

Ironwood stared down at Qrow as he placed his Scroll on Ozpin's desk. "Discreet wasn't working." He said as the center of the room projected a hologram of Vale, Beacon Academy, the Amity Colosseum and Ironwood's fleet of Atlesian Airships. "I'm here because this is what was necessary." He said, gesturing to his ships.

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!" Qrow snapped.

"And I am grateful." Ironwood said.

"Oh, well, you've got a real funny way of showing it." The uncle of our protagonists countered.

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them; someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength." Ironwood explained.

Qrow started laughing. "You... You think they're scared of your little ships? And how much strength can there be in this fleet of yours if you can't manage to hold onto ONE prisoner? You had Roman Torchwick, Public Enemy Number One in prison and you lost him! Besides, I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you - they are fear." Qrow countered the general again.

"And fear will bring the Grimm." Ozpin added, standing up. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds..." He started. "If this is the size of our defenses, then what is it we're expecting to fight?" He questioned as he gestured to the display.

Ironwood glared at them before sighing and walking forward, picking up his Scroll just as it flashed with the image of a Black Queen. "So then, what would you suggest we do?" He asked.

"I suggest we find our guardian." Ozpin answered.

* * *

Cut to a dorm room, where Mercury was sitting in a chair and Azula standing in the middle of the room, reporting on the fight they saw earlier, while Cinder walked back and forth, interrogating them with Emerald resting on a bed nearby.

"And you're sure?" Cinder asked

"Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him." Mercury listed.

"That was CLEARLY not a scythe, you imbecile. Although, it is rumored to turn into a scythe, capable of cleaving the largest, most powerful Grimm in half and even cutting a person with full aura in two." Azula said, looking back at Emerald, who looked horrified as Mercury looked at her nervously.

"It can't kill someone with full aura, don't be foolish." Cinder scoffed, looking to the other two. "Ignore her. She's only here to replace Neo." Cinder said.

"Another failure on your part. You should've made sure she was loyal to YOU, not Torchwick. You failed to do so and in the end she ran off on you, when your plans reached the stage that required her the most." She taunted, to which Cinder growled, rising to her feet.

The two fire-wielders seemed to be preparing for a fight, so Emerald quickly stepped between them before they could. "So! What do we do?" Emerald asked.

Cinder sighed at this and calmed down. "Nothing. We stay the course. They have no idea who we are, so we have no reason to worry. Besides, the last of the heavy lifting is being taken care of thanks to our clever little friend." She said as she picked up her Scroll as it too flashed with the Black Queen. "Speaking of which... it appears we have a new access point." She said as Ironwood was shown on the Scroll as an icon, along with a curling "W" in the other corner.

"Now that's more like it." Azula said as she moved around to observe as well.

"Anywhere good?" Emerald asked.

"You could say that. Go to your rooms. I'll prepare everything for tomorrow." Cinder said.

"Yes, ma'am." Emerald complied.

"Got it." Mercury said.

The Scroll reveals the roster of the Vytal Festival Tournament doubles round, which includes CRDL's Russel Thrush and Sky Lark, SSSN's Sun and Neptune, and Penny along with her partner, Ciel Soleil.

"Let's give the crowd a good fight." Cinder said.

"How good can a fight really be when no one can stand up to Mercury and Emerald?" Azula asked.

"Why, Azula, weren't you the one who said never to assume anything?" Cinder said as she scrolled down each pair until she selected Mercury and Emerald to face off against Coco and Yatsuhashi in the doubles round.

* * *

The next morning, the crowd saw the rigged match-up on the screen at the Amity Colosseum.

"The randomization process is complete! Ladies and gentlemen, your doubles tournament fight!" Port shouted over the announcement system.

As the announcement was heard, RWBY cheered with arms raised, JNPR and SCRN were seen providing applause, and SSSN was shown sitting in front row seats. Bolin Hori and Nolan Porfirio were seen talking to each other behind RWBY, and Dove Bronzewing was sitting behind JNPR. The camera shifted to Cinder and Azula, now watching their teammates in the seats as they menacingly clapped with a devious smirk, before it cut to black.


	30. Family Time

The Amity Colosseum was still floating high amid the cheers of an excited audience as the two opposing pairs of partners for the match, the grinning Mercury and Emerald against a confident Coco and meditating Yatsuhashi, waited in the center of the stadium for the holographic roulette to pick the field.

"Emerald and Mercury of Haven, versus Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon!" Port announced over the broadcaster speakers.

"Good luck, you two!" Velvet cheered from up in the stands alongside Fox and Ruby.

The Colosseum chose four fields to rise up from below in quarter sections: A patch of tall grassy plains which had a single tree and some rocks; the ruins of a city, complete with buildings holding shattered windows and rubble among the pavement; a hot spring containing geyser spots along a small river and some blue Dust crystal growths; and a familiar section of dense forest.

"Hey! Love the outfit, kid!" Coco said as she lowered her sunglasses and eyed her opponents.

"I'll try not to get blood on it." Emerald said.

"I can't promise you'll leave without a scratch." Yatsuhashi warned, getting up as he removed his sword from his back.

Emerald elaborated, stretching out her arm. "I won't be the one bleeding."

"Ooh, I like her!" Coco said.

"Three, two, one, begin!" Port announced along with the countdown behind the combatants.

It was an intense match, but still painfully one-sided as Coco and Yatsuhashi were soundly beaten by the younger students. "And with an amazing upset, Emerald and Mercury are victorious!" Oobleck announced in the announcer's spot with Port.

"Coco?" Velvet said worriedly with a hand over her mouth as Fox shook his head.

Kratos growled at this. "They hid like cowards and separated Coco and Yatsuhashi! They were too afraid to fight them together." He growled.

"Mercury was handling both of them quite well on his own at first, if you remember." Bayonetta said.

"What I'm more concerned about was how brutal they were. Especially Mercury. He brought down Yatsuhashi with little effort, so he could've beaten him quickly, but he drew out the fight far longer than he needed to. He wanted to hurt Yatsuhashi. He was enjoying it." Ryu said.

"And that, Ryu, is why you're the brains of the team. Those two definitely did more damage than they needed to and I've got a pretty good feeling it wasn't an accident. There's definitely something off about them. Hell, there's something off about that whole team." Dante said, looking across from them at Cinder and Azula.

Fox placed a reassuring hand on Velvet's shoulder as Ruby looked into the stadium at her "friends", no one noticing the smiling Cinder and Azula behind them, getting up from their seats and walking away amid the combined cheers and boos from the crowds.

* * *

In an elegant twilit pavilion area of ivy-covered pillars, rounded archways, and lion-decorated fountains, Weiss, Dante and their elder sister Winter were sitting at a simple table with a plate full of croissants and strawberries. Winter was sipping from her teacup as Dante and Weiss looked at her with slight sadness and disappointment.

"You're... leaving?" Weiss repeated the news she was just told.

"That's a shame. You were barely here for a full day." Dante said.

"Yes. I was merely needed to oversee the transport of additional units to Vale." Winter explained, setting her cup down. "Our last shipment was lost to an ambush. I believe you had a run-in with its cargo, actually. It's fortunate those Paladins were in the prototype stage; otherwise your team may not have fared so well."

"Hey, they did great out there. Besides, we were there to bail them out if they were in too much trouble." Dante said.

"Good thing you were there to save the day. Because clearly we couldn't." Weiss sighed and looked down dejectedly.

Winter grabbed her sister's hand reassuringly "Weiss, you've done... well, out here. You've truly excelled alongside Dante. You should be proud. I'll be honest, it was quite amusing seeing Father's face the day you left for Beacon!" Winter said, almost chuckling.

"It's nice to wipe that arrogant smirk off his face from time to time." Dante said.

"I can't wait to show him what I learned!" Weiss said proudly, straightening up and smiling now, arms crossed.

"Oh? Then what do you think you've learned?" Winter asked.

"What do you mean? I'm getting better and better with my glyphs! I've even advanced in Time Dilation! Dante and I have been training almost every day." Weiss explained, not directly looking at her sister.

"And what of your Summoning?" Winter asked, staring intently at her sibling.

"I'm... getting better at it." She said.

"We've been practicing, but everything she summons is only half the size its supposed to be." Dante explained.

"It is a difficult ability. I had quite some trouble with it myself, at first." Winter said, before smirking at Dante. "But now, it's one of the few abilities I've managed to stay ahead of you in." She said confidently.

"Oh, I think you'll find I've improved my summoning quite a bit." Dante said.

Weiss sighed at this. "Well, I'm so glad the two of you can brag about your summoning so confidently, while it's the one thing I've been having trouble with!" She said while splaying her hands exasperatedly.

"We Schnees are unique. Unlike many, our Semblance is hereditary. But that doesn't mean it will come easily." She explained as she lifted her hand to summon a small, elaborate glyph over her palm. "Your Semblance is like a muscle. The more you practice with it, the stronger it will become. But if you only focus on one aspect of it..." She continued, the glyph expanding suddenly in a bright flash, causing Weiss to turn away before looking back up in awe at the white-and-blue Beowolf now at her sister's side. "If you fail to test the limits of what you think is possible, then you'll never truly grow." She explained, stroking her companion.

Weiss smiled at this display of power she hoped to achieve, before cutting to...

* * *

"You'll never beat me, old man!" Ruby cried out as red action lines appeared behind her with oriental battle music playing.

"You're nothing but talk, kid!" Qrow countered with similar blue lines behind him.

"You can do it, Ruby!" Yang called out her support as purple lines followed her and Bayonetta.

"You've got this, sis!" Bayonetta cheered alongside her twin.

Then the entire scene was revealed to be in team RWBY's dorm room at Beacon Academy and the screen of the video game Ruby and Qrow were playing was shown just as one of the pixelated ninjas decapitated the other, with the announcer saying "SOARING NINJA WINS! TOTAL ANNIHILATION!" Qrow grinned at his victory as Ruby lowered her head in shame.

"Ouch." Yang whispered.

"And by the way, don't ever call me old." Qrow warned.

"My turn!" Yang said eagerly, pushing her sibling out of her spot as she grabbed the spinning controller from the air.

"Now, where was I?" Qrow asked while the game began again with "NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES!"

"You were telling us about your last mission!" Ruby answered, popping up from behind the two players excitedly.

"Right, right..." Qrow remembered as the scene flashed back to his story as the art style changed to reflect the dark setting and eerie neighborhood the blade-wielding warrior was walking through. "I'd come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right." He explained.

"What were you doing there?" Ruby asked, mystified.

"I needed information. Tired from battling Grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the town's inn. The place was crawling with lowlifes and thugs, even a few Huntsmen that I could only assume had been hired by less-than reputable people for less-than respectable jobs. And that's when it happened." He said grimly.

"What happened?" Yang asked as Qrow looked at something in the shady inn, wide-eyed at what he saw.

"I was defeated..." Qrow said, kneeling in his flashback under a spotlight, before suddenly grinning. "By the mere sight..." He continued, before what he saw was revealed. "Of the innkeeper's skirt length!" He finished as the vision of pink hearts, a beautiful maid with slightly-skimpy clothing, and the very happy Qrow was shown.

This was interrupted by a thrown dog-head pillow, which Qrow deftly caught much to Yang's ire, not helped by the game announcer calling out once more "SOARING NINJA WINS! TOTAL ANNIHILATION!".

"You are the worst!" Yang snapped.

"We didn't need to hear that. Ruby DEFINITELY didn't." Bayonetta said. Despite both twins being rather flirtatious and somewhat lewd, they fiercely defended Ruby from any form of smut, to the point the youngest sister doesn't know what making out is.

Qrow and Ruby simply laughed at the twin's shared anger. "Bayo, you up for a try?" He asked.

"You're going down, OLD MAN." She taunted, sitting beside him, taking the controller and starting up the next fight.

"Oh, it's on." Qrow said, now determined to defeat Bayonetta.

"So, Uncle Qrow, did you get in trouble with Ozpin?" Ruby asked as she sat herself on Weiss' bed.

"Nah, me and Oz go way back. We're cool." Qrow said, waving the question off.

"Cool for an old guy." Yang scoffed.

"Not funny." Qrow said, looking mad now.

"So, what are you doing here anyway? I thought Dad said that you would be on a mission, for like... ever." Ruby asked.

"Well, a professional Huntsman like myself is expected to get results, as soon as possible." Qrow explained, before his jaw dropped and his eyes widened at the screen in front of him.

"KUNOICHI WINS! TOTAL ANNIHILATION!" The game announced as Bayonetta smirked.

"Even professionals can lose if they get too full of themselves." She taunted her uncle.

"Yeeeeaaaah, I get that." Ruby laughed. "We're pretty much pros, too."

"Oh, really?" Qrow asked slyly.

"Psch, yeah! Read the news sometime. We totally saved Vale while you were gone." Yang said.

"Who knows what would've happened if we weren't there, saving everyone." Bayonetta added.

"Funny, because I heard Vale suffered a Grimm attack after you almost managed to stop a train." Qrow taunted, leaning over to rub it in his niece's faces as Ruby scowled. "But they don't give out medals for almost." He said.

"They do, and it's called silver!" Ruby said resolutely.

"Well, we helped take down Roman Torchwick! That's basically a bounty mission! Sure, he got away, but still, crime's been down ever since!" Yang said.

"And we even put down Dio, one of Remnant's most wanted. Not just Vale's most wanted, but one of the most wanted criminals on the planet!" Bayonetta boasted, despite not being the one who defeated Dio.

"Sure, you may be acting like Huntresses, but you're not thinking like one. You really think four girls and their friends could end all crime in a Kingdom?" Qrow asked.

"I mean, I did until you said that..." Ruby grumbled, tapping her fingers together in embarrassment.

"With friends like Team SCRN, it's not unreasonable." Bayonetta said.

Qrow rolled his eyes at this. "Easy, there. You kids are good, but you're not invincible. One of these days, you'll run into people easily on your level, or even past it." He told her, sounding more serious now. "Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got nabbed; it's stopped, completely. No White Fang activity around the city. You cut off the head of the King Taijitu, but now the second head 's calling the shots. That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick metal head of his." He explained.

The three sisters exchanged a look, before turning back to their uncle. "You... know the General?" Yang asked.

"Hey, I know everybody to some extent. Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team that graduated Beacon!" Qrow said, back to his usual joking demeanor as he reached behind him into one of his pockets and pulled out a photo lined with stains and age of four figures - himself, Raven Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long, and Summer Rose - as Yang's eyes widened and he sighed in remembrance. "Hah, Team STRQ... That's where I met your parents. We were pretty well known back in the day." He said.

"Well known for crummy fashion sense!" Ruby teased.

"Hey, we looked good! And I have a number of inappropriate stories to back that up!" He said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Bayonetta noticed Yang staring at the picture, particularly their mother and elbowed her out of her trance. "Yang." She said as her older twin snapped back to reality.

Qorw also noticed this and put the picture away. "But, I'll save those for when you're older." He said.

"Oh, gross!" Ruby said, recoiling in disgust.

"You'll save them for never, or at least for your own kids." Bayonetta warned him.

"Anyways, I'm too old to be hanging out with a bunch of kids. You're gonna cramp my style." Qrow said, getting up and walking out. He paused in the doorway and sighed before addressing his family; Bayonetta, Ruby and Yang looking up to him and Zwei sleeping on Blake's bed. "Look, just remember that you've still got a long way to go..." He said, turning around and holding a finger up to express his seriousness. "And don't think for a second that graduating means you're done." He warned, hitching a thumb over his shoulder. "Every day out there is worth a week in this place. You three, you're gonna go far. But only if you keep learning; if you never stop moving forward." He finished.

With these immortal words of wisdom, Qrow exited down the hall.

* * *

Back in the pavilion, a caterpillar was slowly inching around on the edge of a fountain at Weiss pointed her Myrtenaster at the ground, creating a rotating glyph made of blade symbols with Winter and Dante behind her, appraising the effort.

"Excellent form! Now think to your fallen foes! The ones who forced you to push past where you were, and become who you are now." Winter instructed. The glyph flickered in and out of existence and Weiss grimaced in concentration. "Think of them, and watch as they come to your side." She finished.

"You can do this, Weiss! We believe in you. You need to believe in yourself." Dante said. The glyph began to flicker even more, threatening to fade altogether. "Picture yourself in battle! This summon will stand between you and your enemy. It may be the only thing that can save your life!" Dante instructed.

Weiss' eyes snapped open fearfully at this, before closing them, the Armor Gigas appearing before her... but only slightly taller than Weiss herself.

"Good start. Just give it more energy." Dante said.

"You're close, Weiss. Just keep pushing! You're almost there!" Winter said.

"I'm trying!" Weiss snapped, turning around to face her brother and sister.

"If this is what you call trying, then you have no hope of winning the tournament, let alone succeeding as a Huntress!" Winter countered, before suddenly smiling as if an idea had occurred to her. "Why don't you just move back home? I'm sure Father would give you a nice job as a receptionist!" She teased.

"I don't need his charity!" Weiss snapped, looking away.

"But you do need his money, don't you?" Winter asked, leaning in.

"What!? How did you know about that!?" Weiss asked, surprised.

"Lucky guess. I may have been in a similar situation when I joined the military. I warned Dante about it, but I figured he would've warned you." Winter explained, straightening back up.

"Eh. I never thought Daddy's little angel would go so rogue." Dante said teasingly.

"Hey! I wasn't his perfect little angel all the time!" Weiss snapped.

"So, what have you done this time?" She asked.

"Well, that's the thing: I'm really not sure! I went to pay for lunch the other day, but the card didn't work!" Weiss explained as Winter circled. around her.

"How embarrassing." Winter said sarcastically.

"I know!" Weiss said, before seeing Winter shaking her head. "Well, it was! Why would he cut me off like that?" She demanded.

"Perhaps so that you'd stop avoiding him and call home." The eldest Schnee suggested.

Instead of answering, Weiss attempts once more to create a summoning glyph and creating the Gigas again, but even smaller than before. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes tightly, to which Dante sighed. "Okay, time for something extreme." Dante whispered to himself. "Weiss! If you can't make the Gigas its full size, Ruby is going to die!" He shouted.

"NO!" She suddenly screamed, her eyes snapping open and her summoning finally reaching its full size and bowing to her. "I... did it..." She said.

"The desire to protect the ones you love gave you the extra push you needed." Dante said.

Winter smiled and nodded. "Indeed. Well done, Weiss. But don't allow yourself to solely rely on that feeling." She warned. "Emotions can grant you strength. But you must never let them overpower you." She explained, the summon now disappearing. "It sounds to me like you have two choices in front of you. You can either call him, beg for his money back, and explain once more why you would want to study at Beacon over Atlas, or you could continue to explore Remnant, discovering more about the world and honestly, more about yourself." She said, allowing Weiss a moment to absorb this information.

"Any advice for me there, sis?" Dante asked.

Winter smirked. "For one, you could certainly do without the cocky, careless attitude. Mark my words, it WILL get you in trouble one of these days." She said, Dante rolling his eyes. "Beyond that, I can only tell you to keep training and improving, like you always have." She finished, before revealing... "It's time for me to go." She said as she gave her sister a hug, which was returned.

"It was really good to see you, Winter." Weiss said, breaking off from the embrace.

Winter nodded at this, before her and Dante shared a hug. "Stay safe out there, sis. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Dante said.

"So, in other words, stop being me entirely?" She teased again, before smiling sadly. "Until next time, my dear brother and sister." Winter said.

The three Schnees walked out of the pavilion and went in opposite directions.

* * *

Later at night, Weiss and Dante were in the school courtyard, waving goodbye at the airship carrying their sister. They stopped just as Weiss' scroll started vibrating with an incoming call from "FATHER". Dante rolled his eye at this while her finger hovered over the screen in uncertainty until she closed her eyes and forced herself to press it.

Dante smiled at this, putting a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "I'm proud of you, sis. Winter would be, too. Eventually, you'll be just as good as her, if not better." He said.

"Maybe even better than you?" She asked.

"Don't push it." He said jokingly, to which she rolled her eyes before widening them at the new card he handed her. "Oh, by the way, I stopped at the bank earlier today and set you up a second account. You won't have to worry about lunch again for a while." He said.

Weiss smiled, first at her brother, then at the sight of her closed scroll and the setting of a new path in life, she put it away and the two of them walked back inside as the scene faded to black.


	31. Round Two

We see the Amity Colosseum's mountain biome being bombarded by several explosions all around the area. Russel Thrush, daggers in hand, was running from the mayhem before spinning around, ready to face his opponents, who turned out to be the familiar face of Penny and her beret-wearing teammate. With an ever-present smile and simple arm movements, she summoned six floating swords from behind her and reared them back before launching them in a ring at Russel, who barely managed to duck behind a rock to protect himself.

"Cowards. They're a disgrace to Beacon." Kratos grumbled.

"Definitely not the cream of the crop." Dante agreed.

Wasting no time, Penny did the same thing with another group of blades, homing in on the other CRDL teammate Sky Lark until he used his own halberd to vault over another stone for defense. The two exchanged a worried look at the sight of their rocks still pierced with multiple blades and Penny grinned in combat-ready fierceness as she looked to her partner, who simply tapped her watch as if hurrying Penny up.

"What a bitch." Bayonetta said, glaring at Penny's partner.

"Exactly. You have no right to tell someone to hurry when you yourself are doing nothing." Ryu agreed.

Wasting no time, Penny raised her hands like a puppet-master and used the near-invisible strings attached to each hilt to lift the giant rocks up in the air, with the screaming Russel and Sky still hanging on. Bringing her arms down to her sides, the stones came crashing to the ground as well, leaving Penny's opponents in the grass. Her swords came back to her pack as the buzzer rang.

"And victory goes to Penny and Ciel of Atlas!" Oobleck announced over the broadcaster's system.

"Thank you for a wonderful time." Penny said, placing a fist in her palm and bowing in respect to her fallen foes, still smiling.

The two victors turned to leave the stadium as Russel feebly reached out, only to get hit in the head by an errant stone.

"That's one of the many signs that should tell Team CRDL to stay down." Bayonetta said.

Watching from the stands, Ruby saw them start to walk away and excitedly got up form her seat with the rest of her team to meet them at one of the exits. Bayonetta noticed this and followed after her sister.

"Penny!" Ruby called out as she caught up and spreading her arms.

"Ruby!" Penny said happily, lifting up her own arms as she tackled her friend into a hug that left them both of them on the ground.

Ruby grunted as the two hit the ground. "Why..." She groaned weakly.

"Penny, you really need to limit that enthusiasm." Bayonetta said, helping them back up.

"Ruby, this is my teammate." Penny said as she got up energetically and gestured to the other girl.

"Ciel Soleil." She introduced herself, bowing formally.

Ruby raised her hand in greeting. "Hi! I'm Ru-" She started.

"Ruby Rose. 15. Hails from Patch. Leader of Team RWBY. Status: Questionable." Ciel stated rather bluntly.

Bayonetta glared at this, before smirking. "As questionable as your usefulness in that last battle." She said, Ciel glaring.

"Penny had the situation well under control. There was no need for me to assist." Ciel explained.

"Yet you felt the need to hurry her along despite the fact you weren't doing anything to end the fight any faster." Bayonetta countered.

Ruby was silent for a second. "Sooo... Penny!" She said, turning back to her friend. "You two were incredible out there." She congratulated.

"Oh, sorry, I think my sister's mistaken. Penny, YOU were great out there. You know, since you were the only one who did anything." Bayonetta said, smirking at a now furious Ciel.

"If all students of Beacon are as foolish as you, it's no wonder those boys were so easy to defeat." Ciel said.

"Those boys are part of the weakest first year team currently attending Beacon. If you were up against our team, I guarantee things would've been different. And you would've definitely been put down first." Bayonetta said.

"How do you keep control of all those swords? It's so cool!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Penny?" Ciel asked as she looked at her watch and gestured at it. "I believe it is best if we move on to our next location." She said.

"Good idea. You can find somewhere else to be useless." Bayonetta said, Ciel now fuming.

Penny exchanged a look with Ruby. "Could we have just a minute to talk?" She asked.

In response, Ciel checked the time, then took a step back and nodded, starting the countdown.

"So is she... your friend or...?" Ruby asked.

"Well, in a way. She's like Blake, but if Blake was ordered to spend time with you." Penny explained.

"Oh. So, Weiss." Ruby corrected.

"Precisely." Penny confirmed.

"Does she know about... y'know... beep boop bop, does not compute?" Ruby asked, lowering her voice as she moved her body abruptly as if imitating a robot, leaving her arm to hang with a noticeable squeaking sound.

"How are you doing that?" Bayonetta asked her sister.

"Oh no. General Ironwood doesn't really want anyone to know. There was an incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off." Penny answered, shaking her head.

Flashback to the Vytal Festival grounds with Ciel and Penny, who's wearing a large sun hat. The wind picked up and lifted the hat from her hair, revealing the aforementioned magnet on her skull and Penny quickly shoved the headgear back on before Ciel turned back around. The story caused the sisters and Penny to laugh about it in the present for several seconds.

"Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about." Penny said, still smiling, but getting serious, glancing over at Ciel before leaning in. "I want to stay at Beacon." She whispered to Ruby.

Ruby looked troubled by the news. "Penny, they'll never let you do that." She warned.

Penny frowned, but then grinned with mischief. "I know, but I have a plan." She said.

"It's been precisely one minute, ma'am." Ciel informed, stepping back up to Penny's side and pointing to her watch.

"I'll talk to you more soon, Ruby." Penny said as the two Atlesians left, but Penny turned to give a wave of farewell to Ruby, who did the same.

"Sometimes I worry about that girl." Bayonetta said.

"You shouldn't." Ruby said.

"Our next match will begin in 15 minutes!" Port announced over the stadium speakers.

"Oh, goodie. I've been waiting for this one!" Bayonetta said.

Ruby gasped and suddenly looked really excited as she clasped her hands together. "Oh my gosh, that's right! It's time for-" She started.

* * *

Ryu and Kratos were now in the ring. "So, now we face off against Mistral. This will be interesting." Kratos said.

"Indeed. It'll be nice to see what kind of fighters our old home produced." Ryu said.

"Of course, just because we came from the same Kingdom doesn't mean we'll take it easy on them." Kratos said.

"Of course not. Vale's our home now and we're here fighting for Beacon, not Haven." Ryu answered, Kratos nodding.

There opponents soon arrived on the stage across from them. The first was a girl with white hair, golden eyes, dark skin, large breasts and a scar across her nose. She wore a black jacket with a white zipper tee and torn-up denim short shorts, along with knee high brown boots with black heels, yellow-outlined straps and white metal-toes. A single belt crossed her waist with considerable length that has its tail end point out from her left-to-her right from behind and she has a large golden gauntlet-like weapon on her left arm and a golden vambrace on her right arm with a golden, spiked elbow pad and a small plate of armor on the back of the hand with spikes on two of the knuckles. "I hope you boys are ready for me." She warned.

"We're ready for anything." Kratos said.

From the stands, Ruby smiled as she looked at the girl's weapon. "Whoa! Sis, that's like a GIANT version of your Ember Celica!" She said.

Yang shrugged at this. "Eh. It's not how big it is, sis. It's how you use it." She said, but then smirked. "But still, I wouldn't mind taking her on and showing her mine are better." She said.

Their other opponent was a young man with spiky gold hair, blue eyes, brown/tanned skin, a defined squared jaw and light facial hair. He also had a large, wedge-shaped scar on his left cheek. He wore round glasses, a large white cassok with blue trim and interior, black pants, black boots, a black shirt with blue trim, white gloves and a silver cross around his neck. "Ah, Ryu Hayabusa and Kratos Nikos. The bloody heathens who'd rather join up with Beacon and Vale instead of the Kingdom he came from." He said.

"Well, you know who I am, but I'm afraid I can't say the same. What's your name, man?" Ryu asked.

"Alexander Anderson. My name is Alexander Anderson. And I like killing things because it's fun. So just you pray. Just you pray." His opponent answered, reaching into his coat and pulling out 4 bayonets in each hand, one between each of his fingers.

"Bayonets. Always a nice choice of weapons." Bayonetta said.

"They look pretty tough, but I think Ryu and Kratos got this one." Dante said, smirking. "In the mean time, we can just sit back and enjoy ourselves." He said, putting an arm around Bayonetta's shoulders.

"I love the way you think." She said, leaning onto his shoulder.

"And the next match, between Beacon's Ryu Hayabusa and Kratos Nikos, once Mistralites themselves, versus Haven's Alexander Anderson and Bullet... uh... no last name provided... will now begin!" Port announced as the 4 biomes of the arena rose up, revealing themselves as the ice tundra, ocean, an anti-gravity zone with a number of floating rocks and finally, the forest.

"Certainly an interesting collection of environments." Ryu said.

"There is no environment I have not already faced." Kratos said.

"3... 2... 1... BEGIN!" Oobleck announced.

 **Background Music: "Last Resort" by Papa Roach**

Ryu rushed in with his claws at the ready, locking them with Anderson's bayonets, the two struggling briefly, before Ryu threw a kick, Anderson jumping back just before the knives on Ryu's boot could cut him. Anderson threw his bayonets at Ryu, who responded by flinging his Windmill Shuriken, easily cutting threw the smaller, thinner blades, but then noticed his opponent was gone, only a few golden pages where he was. "What?" He asked, before sensing something behind him, seeing Anderson lunge out of a swarm of golden pages right at him, hitting him in the face with a massive haymaker that knocked him back, but Ryu managed to draw his howling cannon and blast the saint back.

Meanwhile, Kratos rushed in with his Nemean Cestus and threw his massive fists at Bullet, but his smaller, more agile opponent easily moved around him and landed a flurry of powerful attacks with fiery blasts behind them, knocking him into the air, jumping up after him and kicking him back down to the ground, grabbing him again and blasting him back with a fiery burst from her gauntlets.

"Oh, my! Kratos is quite powerful, but it seems young miss Bullet's speed is too much for Mistral's champion!" Port announced.

"Is that all. You were a champion back in Mistral." She said.

"I'm just getting started." Kratos said as he got back to his feet. She shot a twisting burst of fire that slid across the ground towards Kratos, but he slammed the cestus into the ground and swung them forward, creating a huge wind that disperse the fire and knocked Bullet off balance, allowing Kratos to rush in and land a devastating uppercut that launched her into the air, before he launched and slammed the lion heads of the cestus into her, sending her flying back.

Anderson threw several more bayonets at Ryu, who threw his own kunai to knock them out of the air, the two clashing once again when Anderson closed the distance between them. Anderson's bayonets repeatedly broke against Ryu's claws, but he somehow had more for every one that broke, which he constantly discarded, soon littering almost the entire tundra with the bayonet handles.

"What an unforeseen event, ladies and gentlemen! Alexander Anderson seems to have a seemingly endless number of bayonets from him to replace his damaged ones!" Oobleck announced.

Finally switching his tactics, Anderson tossed the broken bayonets at Ryu, who blocked them, but this left him open for a massive boot to the chest from Anderson, knocking him back into the next biome.

As this was happening, Kratos and Bullet were on pretty even footing. Bullet was still landing many more attacks, but Kratos was able to withstand them and managed to land a few powerful attacks as well. However, Bullet became deadly serious. "System Override!" She announced, a flash of fire surrounding her, causing her to glow orange before she rushed in. Kratos tried to hit her with a burst of wind from his gauntlets, but she amazingly powered through it and caught the former Spartan in a particularly long combo, throwing him into the air and to the ground repeatedly, eventually even into a large glacier. "Huh. Some champion." Bullet scoffed, rushing in, preparing to eliminate her opponent.

Pyrrha and Jaune stood up at this. "Come on, Kratos!" Jaune shouted.

"Don't give up, brother!" Pyrrha called.

With this, something snapped in Kratos. With a roar of fury, flames appeared to surround him as he rushed in and began hammering on Bullet. His attacks were at least twice as strong as before and even his aura was steadily replenishing. She managed to land a few attacks on him trying to defend herself, but these didn't even faze the former general, who continued to pulverize her, until with one final jumping smash that knocked her back, the flames faded, leaving Kratos exhausted, while Bullet was beaten, her aura having dropped from 60% to a mere 25%, but it was still enough for her to continue.

Back with Ryu and Anderson, the former priest jumped high into the air with only one bayonet in each hand this time, attempting to drop down on Ryu, but found himself. "What the blood sucked, protestant hell is going on?!" He asked as he floated in the air.

"Oh ho! It seems as though our anti-gravity biome has claimed yet another victim!" Port announced.

"Truly, one of the most dastardly terrains this arena has to offer, second only to the volcano region!" Oobleck agreed.

Ryu was surprised at this, then thought of something from his past life. "I can use this." He said, doing some hand signals, dropping into a crouch and spinning with his arm out, using Ninpo to cut out a chunk of ground just large enough to use as a platform, the lack of gravity raising it into the air, allowing him to ride the boulder like a surfboard. Ordinarily, he'd need Ninpo to fly the platform, but in this case, the anti-gravity field did it for him.

"Whoa!" Ruby said.

"He can do that?!" Ren asked. He'd never seen his friend use such a technique before.

"Alright, Ryu! Get him, baby!" Nora cheered.

Ryu chuckled upon hearing this. "I'd better not disappoint her." He said, flying the platform towards Anderson, who still struggled to move in mid-air. Ryu readied his staff and attacked with several fly-by attacks. Anderson managed to block most of these attacks, but eventually, Ryu managed to break through the bayonets, unleashing a devastating combo on the former priest, finishing with one more powerful swing, sending the priest flying, before he stopped time with his Ninpo, spinning and flinging the platform he previously stood on at Anderson, stopping a few feet from the bayonet wielder. Remembering a tale from Bayonetta's past life, he then disappeared and reappeared near several smaller, yet still decent-sized boulders and launched them towards his opponent. Finally, he reappeared on the ground in front of Anderson with his back to the priest, time restarting and all the boulders slamming into him.

"Oh, my! Blink and you miss it, people! Ryu somehow managed to redirect several boulders into Alexander and defeated his opponent by knockout!" Oobleck announced.

"Woohoo! Yeah, Ryu!" Nora cheered.

"Count on Ryu to give us an over the top finish like that." Dante said.

"Taking a page from my book, I see. Well done." Bayonetta said.

Meanwhile, the tired Kratos was doing his best to withstand Bullet's charged up attacks, but the energy he'd spent with his raging attack before left him struggling even more to contend with her. "You asked for this!" She snapped, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him into the air, firing three powerful, fiery blasts into his face, before turning around and slamming him into the ground, her giant gauntlet turning into some form of massive drill cannon. "System overload maximum output!" She shouted as the cannon fired directly into Kratos' face, creating a huge explosion, sending dust everywhere and creating a crater the size of a medium-sized swimming pool.

"Kratos!" Pyrrha and Jaune shouted.

"Whoa!" Yang said in shock, her mouth hanging open.

"Sis? I think she uses it better than you." Ruby said, her sister merely nodding.

"Damn. That's a weapon with some power behind it." Dante said.

"Definitely, but not quite enough power." Bayonetta said.

"Target eliminated." She said, walking out of the smoke.

"Not yet..." Kratos said weakly as he stood back up.

"What?!" Bullet asked in disbelief, turning around to face Kratos as he once again unleashed his Spartan Rage, clearing all the dust, rushing in and landing several more devastating punches, ending with one final jumping smash that sent her skidding a few feet across the ground, unconscious.

 **End Music**

"Amazing! It's over! Ryu and Dante win with two devastating knockouts!" Oobleck announced.

"Truly, the power these two possess is not to be trifled with!" Port said.

Kratos panted heavily as Ryu walked up and patted his back. "Excellent work out there. I don't think I'd still be standing after taking a blast like that." He said.

"You weren't bad yourself. That rock barrage was a masterfully done." Kratos said.

"Hey! Nice work, you two." Dante said as he and Bayonetta walked up.

"I hope you actually managed to watch and didn't spend the whole time making out." Ryu said.

"How rude, Ryu! We know when something's more important than locking lips. Of course we saw the fight. You both did well. You even took a page from my book, I saw." She said.

"Thank you for sharing it." He said.

"Come on, guys. Let's get something to eat. You guys earned a pizza." Dante said.

"How generous. You can afford to buy any restaurant in Vale, let alone any meal from them, yet we're still going for pizza." Kratos said, rolling his eyes, but still smiled.

* * *

Later on that evening in a certain Beacon dorm room, Cinder was sitting on her bed looking through files on her Scroll. Azula sat next to her, filing her nails and occasionally glancing at Cinder's scroll. Emerald was lying on the floor also playing with her own device and Mercury was doing push-ups beside her.

Suddenly, the leader of the faction stumbled upon something very interesting. "Oh." Cinder said, her eyes widening in surprise, followed by a smile.

Azula looked as well, also a bit surprised, before gaining her own smirk. "Well, now. Atlas is certainly full of surprises." She said.

"What?" Emerald asked, looking over with Mercury.

"Oh nothing. We're just going to be making a slight, hmm... alternation in the plan." Cinder explained as she accessed a document regarding the blueprints of "P.E.N.N.Y."

Mercury and Emerald shared a somewhat concerned look. "What does that mean?" He asked.

"It means that this will be even easier than we thought." Cinder explained while continuing to look at the familiar image of a robotic redhead.

"It looks like we've found the perfect person to help send our message." Azula said.

"Indeed." Cinder said with an evil smirk.

* * *

Within the headmaster's office at twilight, Professor Ozpin was facing the window, his back to the elevators when the doors opened and Qrow stepped inside, approaching his desk with coffee mug in hand.

"You know, he's making you look like a fool." Qrow said.

"His heart is in the right place. He's just... misguided." Ozpin defended the general.

"Sometimes, I'm not even sure he has a heart." Qrow countered as he took a drink from his cup and shifted his weight. "So, have you chosen your guardian yet?" He asked.

Ozpin swirled his chair around to face Qrow. "Maidens choose themselves. I simply believe I've found the right candidate. I doubt her brother will approve of the idea, but ever since the day I met her, I had the feeling she would be the one. She's strong, intelligent, caring... but most importantly, she's ready." He said.

As he listed these qualities off, Pyrrha was seen entering the elevator of the Cross Continental Transmit System tower. She turned just when the doors closed on her ominous smile, and the scene cut to black.

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter down! I hope you all enjoyed it, especially Team SCRN's fight against Bullet and Anderson. I still say Bullet should be in Cross Tag Battle and have an interaction with Yang. Fun fact: in my earliest plans for the story, Team SCRN was actually going to be Team BARD: comprised of Bayonetta Belladonna: Blake's older twin, Alucard Rose: ruby's younger twin... and Ryu and Dante would've been the same. But, in the end, I changed it because A: Team BARD sounded lame and B: Alucard seemed a little too indestructible for the RWBYverse. But who knows? Maybe one of you out there could make it work with your own team. Big thanks to** **merendinoemiliano and Israel Pena for their ideas to help me give this story a unique twist from the regular canon.  
**


	32. Doubts and Destiny

The scene opened on the headmaster's office of Professor Ozpin, who was seated behind his desk across from Pyrrha, as the last rays of twilight came through the clock-decorated windows.

"Well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance was exemplary." Ozpin chuckled as he gestured to her, his cane resting at his side.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would have never made it this far without my teammates. And of course, the training with my brother." Pyrrha said humbly.

"Personally, I think it's the other way around." Qrow said from his spot leaning against a column in the back of the room, arms crossed.

Pyrrha turned around and got up from her chair. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced." She said, trying to be formal.

"Name's Qrow." Qrow introduced himself, still rather hostile.

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine." Ozpin explained.

Pyrrha looked at Qrow for another moment before addressing her teacher again. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?" She asked.

"Please, take a seat." Ozpin said, still smiling. When she did so, he put his fingers up to his lips, leaning back casually. "What is your favorite fairy tale?" He asked.

"I'm... sorry?" Pyrrha asked, confused.

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them." Ozpin explained.

Pyrrha was a bit put off by the question, but answered anyway."Well, there's The Tale of The Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower..." She listed with nostalgia.

"What about The Story of the Seasons?" Ozpin asked, leaning back forward.

"Well, of course!" She confirmed happily, looking away in remembrance. "A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home, is visited by four traveling sisters." She narrated the story as the art style changed to show the colored silhouettes of four young women coming across a house on a hill with a single figure in the doorway. "The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all that he has, and be thankful." She explained as each of the four performed a different action, with the white one sitting down, the green bringing a basket of fruits, the orange calling their host out of the building and the purple gesturing to what's around them.

"In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept, and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant 'til the end of days." Pyrrha finished as a golden light emanated from the old man until it surrounded the four girls, who go on their way with the glow still around them. We then come back to the office as she listed the four off. "Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the four maidens. My mother loves that story." She said fondly.

Ozpin nodded. "Precisely. And one more, the Other Worlders?" He asked.

"Oh! That one is Kratos' favorite! It's much shorter, but still powerful and awe-inspiring. Legend states that there is a god of light watching over all worlds and when Remnant sees its darkest hour, dying heroes from other worlds will be reborn from Remnant to save it." She explained.

"Would you believe me if I told you those two have been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin asked.

"You're not that old, Professor." Pyrrha laughed.

"Well, would you believe me if I told you they were true?" Ozpin asked, turning from playful to deadly serious in a millisecond.

Pyrrha was silent for a moment, then gave an uneasy chuckle. "I beg your pardon?"

"What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?" He asked again.

"You mean... like a Semblance?" Pyrrha asked, trying to make sense of this development.

"Like magic." Ozpin corrected, giving a small smile as he delivered his secret.

"I..." Pyrrha started, looking down.

"Yeah. First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy." Qrow said.

Pyrrha turned her gaze from Qrow back to Ozpin again. "You're serious?" She asked, amazed.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ozpin asked, completely straight-faced.

She hesitated for a moment, before answering. "... No." She said. struggling for the right words. "Why... why are you telling me this?" She asked, struggling for the right words.

"Well, your brother and his team knows, so it's only fair you know." Qrow said.

"Kratos knows as well?" Pyrrha asked in disbelief.

Ozpin glanced at Qrow, who nodded his approval, before looking into Pyrrha's eyes. "He knows a great deal more than he's let on. But more importantly: we are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers." He told her.

Pyrrha's eyes grow wider and wider until she realized what he said. "'We'?" She asked.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened and she saw Glynda and General Ironwood step out.

"Sorry we're late." Ironwood apologized as he straightened his tie and Glynda fixed her glasses.

"Wait, what is this? Who are you?" Pyrrha asked, overwhelmed, narrowing her eyes at Ozpin.

"You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon." Goodwitch told her, coming forward with Ironwood and Qrow, spreading her hands and trying to sound reassuring.

"But we've got a little part-time job." Qrow added.

"We are the protectors of the world." Ironwood explained.

"And we need your help." Ozpin finished. "Your brother wished for you to be left out of this, but now I believe you are needed." He said.

Pyrrha was shocked into silence as everyone in the room looked to her. "Kratos... How does he know so much about this? And why would he keep it from me?" She asked.

"All will be revealed when you come with us." Ozpin said.

* * *

Cut to Pyrrha, looking nervous, in the elevator with the group of "protectors". She looked at Ozpin and Glynda as if seeing them for the first time while a steady beeping signals each floor passed.

"Where are we going?" Pyrrha asked apprehensively

"The vault. Under the school." Ozpin answered. "Kratos and his team heard of it, but you're now SEEING more than he has." He added.

The elevator continued downward through the vertical tunnel of dark green lights until it opened its doors and their passengers stepped out, with Pyrrha being the last to leave as she absorbed the sight of the large, sparsely-lit hallway she was now being lead through. Glynda waited up for her behind the others.

"I'm sure you must have questions." Goodwitch said.

"Maybe one, or two... Although more than that for my brother." Pyrrha said, still taking it all in. They continue on as she decides to ask them her questions. "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever." Glynda explained.

"So, how does the power choose?" Pyrrha asked.

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules." Qrow called back over his shoulder.

"Qrow." Goodwitch grumbled.

"Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right." He said.

Goodwitch looked back to Pyrrha. "At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate." She explained it all carefully.

"... Intimate?" Pyrrha asked, concerned.

"As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power." Glynda informed.

"Unless it's a dude or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our job gets a lot harder." Qrow added.

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?" Pyrrha asked.

"The same reason we had to ignore your brother's request to keep you from being involved. Honestly, we've run out of time. I don't know if you've noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying for so long goes out the window." Qrow informed her.

"You're not... talking about a war?" Pyrrha asked.

"Not a war between nations." Ironwood said.

"We can fill you on the details once we know that you're with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked. And for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen." Qrow explained.

A humming of electricity was heard as the group comes to their destination at the end of the hallway: A large machine with lit screens hooked up to two rectangular pods, one of which was upright to show through the glass window a young girl dressed in minimal clothing with a burn scar over her left eye and across her face.

"Is that..." Pyrrha started, stepping forward hesitantly.

Ozpin sighed heavily. "The current Fall Maiden, Amber." He said.

"She's... still alive." Pyrrha said, holding herself.

"For now. We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is... unprecedented." Ironwood told her.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked. Ironwood sighed with his eyes closed. "Won't... her power... just transfer to the next host?" She asked.

"Look who's been listening!" Qrow said, before leaning towards Ozpin. "She is smart." He whispered to Beacon's headmaster.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delicate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker." Ironwood explained, glancing at Amber. "And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half." He finished.

"... Her assailant." Pyrrha realized, connecting the pieces together.

"And that would not bode well for any of us." Ozpin said, turning to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha lowered her head in thought, then suddenly comes forward and places a hand on the glass of Amber's pod. "If all of this is true, why keep it secret!? If this girl is so important... if we're truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?" Pyrrha demanded, suddenly sounding angry, turning to the teachers and gesturing wildly. "And why wouldn't Kratos tell me?" She asked. Her brother and her had been nearly inseparable since childhood and told each other everything. So how could he hide something.

"Your brother only wished to protect you. But he is also part of the second legend. The Other Worlders. Kratos, as well as the rest of Team SCRN, are warriors from a distant, unknown world, reborn on Remnant. Even we don't know the specifics of their previous lives, as they requested to keep them to themselves, but from what he has said, Kratos wasn't the upstanding warrior we know him as today. He likely didn't want to disturb you with a grim past." Ozpin explained. Pyrrha was shocked at first, then looked down sadly at this.

"As for why we never spoke of magic and the maidens. From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge." Goodwitch explained, coming forward.

"Excuse me?" Pyrrha asked, not expecting that answer.

It was now Qrow's turn to elaborate as he pulled out the familiar flask. "How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere." He explained as he got the lid off and took a swig.

"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the Maidens. Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength." Glynda informed.

"And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the ones you'd want to have unimaginable power." Qrow said, finishing his drink.

"And so our brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend." Ironwood finished.

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history and religion." Goodwitch explained.

"No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar." Ironwood warned.

"It would cause panic. And we all know what that would bring to clawing at our Kingdom's walls." Ozpin finished as he turned his gaze away from the others. "Which is why we would like to..." He started.

"I'll do it." Pyrrha said. Ozpin looked up, surprised, as she stared at the ground, before continuing. "If you believe that this will help humanity..." She went on, then gave them all a resolute look. "... then I will become your Fall Maiden." She finished as the others silently turned to each other with wary faces. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?" She asked.

"It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution." Ozpin explained, stepping towards her.

"For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it." Ironwood explained.

"Capture it and cram it into something else." Qrow crudely elaborated. "Or in your case..." He said as he gestured to Pyrrha as she took a second to realize what that meant.

"That's..." Pyrrha started, looking to Ironwood.

"Classified." Ironwood said.

"... wrong!" She countered, horrified.

"The feeling is mutual." Goodwitch agreed, glaring at Ironwood, before she switched her gaze back to Pyrrha. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And these are indeed desperate times. We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to." Ironwood explained.

"... Her Aura." Pyrrha realized.

"Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is..." Ozpin said.

"What's that going to do to you?" Qrow asked.

"You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. There's no guarantee this transfer will work. And there's no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time on this matter. But understand that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer." Ozpin explained, as Pyrrha fully understood the dangers she might face.

Pyrrha didn't respond, instead placing her hand on the glass separating the maiden from her potential replacement, seeing her scared expression reflected on the scarred face of the dying girl. She was scared, both at this frightening truth and the fact she may truly not even know her own brother, before turning away from this expected destiny as Ozpin gave one final warning.

"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. And there's no telling when their next move will be." Ozpin warned.

* * *

With the sound of a rapid heartbeat, the scene cut to a smirking Cinder Fall as she sat in one of the Amity Colosseum's seats along with the rest of the cheering crowd, their screams being drowned out by the announcements.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!" Port announced over the broadcasting system.

In the center of the battlefield's stage, Yang smirked confidently as the camera panned down the line of final fighters, a few new faces mixed in with Sun, Penny, Mercury, Kratos and the troubled Pyrrha at the other end of the line. Kratos looked to his sister, smiling and nodding to her. She flashed her own brief smile, but quickly looked away and frowned once more, much to her brother's confusion.

"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?" Port suggested back in the announcer's box with his co-host.

"Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!" Oobleck explained.

"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!" Port added.

"Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" Oobleck said.

The energetic doctor pointed out to the screens above the stadium as the roulette started spinning, this time for competitors instead of biomes. The "random selection" was watched by the owner of the Crow Bar, a group of Human and Faunus kids, the visitors and workers at the Cross Continental Transmit System, before it got back from the worldwide audience glimpses to reveal the first showdown.

* * *

 **A/N: So, Pyrrha has been faced with a sudden, overwhelming destiny and has had the seeds of doubt about her brother planted within her? How will this effect her? Only time will tell! Keep reading to find out.**


	33. The Finals and The Final Straw

The reels spun and finally landed on the two contestants for this round. "And our two fighters will be Kratos Nikos against Guts, the Black Swordsman of Shade Academy!" Oobleck announced.

The other students quickly filed off of the arena as Kratos and a boy in intimidating black armor with an absolutely massive sword, almost more akin to a giant slab of raw steel, turned to face each other. "Huh. One of the champions of Mistral, huh? You better not turn out to be some kind of weakling." Guts said

"I assure you, I am no weakling." Kratos said, readying his own massive blade.

"3... 2... 1... Begin!" Port announced, the two warriors rushing in.

 **Background Music: "Bleed It Out" by Linkin Park.**

The two warriors rushed in and clashed their massive swords together, attempting to force the other back. Kratos came out the stronger of the two and took several steps forward, sliding Guts back a few feet. Finally, with a large push, Kratos shoved Guts back and off-balance, allowing him to swing the sword and fire a ball of electricity into Guts, knocking him back even further. Guts recovered and brought up his prosthetic right arm, firing several crossbow bolts with varying Dust tips, but Kratos easily deflected each of them, swinging at Guts again, but the Black Swordsman backed up. Kratos then prepared for a downward slice, but Guts deployed his hidden cannon in the arm and blasted Kratos in the chest, sending him flying back.

Kratos would then stop himself by stabbing the blade into the ground and readying himself as Guts rushed in and struck at Kratos several times, the former Spartan blocking each of the strikes, managing to knock Kratos off-balance and attempting to strike again, but Kratos brought up his shoulder and intercepted the strike with the Golden Fleece, deflecting Guts' attack and blasting him back with the energy from the attack, before knocking him down with another ball of electricity from the sword.

Guts got back up just in time to roll out of the way as Kratos leapt towards him and sliced at him with the massive sword. They both swung once again and locked blades, Kratos once again pushing Guts back a few steps. The Ghost of Remnant scoffed at this. "Pathetic. You would call me a weakling, yet I have been dominating this entire battle!" Kratos taunted, before Guts headbutted him, causing him to stagger back, then hit him with a barrage of crossbow bolts and knocking him back with a powerful spinning horizontal slash, throwing him back across the arena.

"Alright, then... I think it's about time we got serious." Guts said. Suddenly, he held his arms out and he began to be encased within a demonic-looking suit.

"Ahh, yes! This is Guts' Semblance. One of the most unique we've seen so far. By dawning this strange and intimidating armor, Guts becomes completely immune to pain and it's natural inhibitions, allowing him to unleash his completely unrestrained potential. However, it also comes with the possibility of damaging his body. His aura minimalizes this, but cannot outright prevent it. This is now a gamble for Guts." Oobleck explained to the crowd.

 _ **"Now, then... Come on..."**_ Guts said darkly.

"Very well. It is time we ended this." Kratos said, unleashing his own semblance and rushing in, Guts doing the same. It almost looked like a small tornado was beginning to form in the middle of the arena wit how fast the two berserkers swung their massive blades, almost too fast for to be seen. Kratos was now surprisingly the more mobile one, dashing around guts and slicing at him, even stabbing and ripping up the ground, using shockwaves to stagger Guts.

However, despite the number of attacks Guts was recieving and his aura slowly but surely going down, he appeared completely unfazed by te damage he was taking and threw devastatingly powerful attacks, mostly just missing and nicking Kratos, but a few landed definite and painful hits, beginning to slow Team SCRN's powerhouse down, to the point Guts actually had him on the defensive. _**"Looks like you're no champion without your sister by your side!"**_ Guts taunted, breaking through Kratos' guard and readying one final swing.

Kratos growled at this insult to his pride. Of course, Pyrrha had been a huge help and they won those championships together, but Kratos was still a formidable warrior on his own, the strongest among his team, who were already the strongest at Beacon. "I need no allies to be a warrior!" He snapped, spinning the sword and using his aura to activate the lightning Dust to create a dome of electricity around the two, shocking Guts and forcing his muscle to tighten from the electricity, leaving him stunned and wide open for one more devastating slash that sent Guts to the ground and sliding across it until he fell out of the arena, aura completely depleted

 **End Music**

"And the winner is Kratos Nikos of Beacon by a combination of ring-out and aura depletion!" Oobleck announced.

"What a way to kick off the finals!" Port said.

Kratos walked up to Guts as he got onto one knee, offering his hand to help the black swordsman up. "You fought well." He said.

Guts looked up, slightly surprised, before smiling and taking Kratos' hand, allowing him to pull Guts to his feet. "To you as well. You certainly earned your spot as a champion." He said.

The two of them then left the ring and Kratos walked up to where RWBY, JNPR and the rest of SCRN sat. "Nice work, Nikos." Dante said, high-fiving Kratos.

"Well fought, my friend." Ryu said.

"What else would you expect from the team's powerhouse?" Bayonetta said.

"True, but it was all of your efforts that helped me get this far." He said.

"That was amazing, Kratos!" Jaune said, stepping up to Kratos and patting his back. "Pyrrha, wasn't he great out there?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha turned to Jaune. "Oh..." She said, looking at her brother, remembering everything Ozpin and the others had told her, wondering if she truly even knew him anymore. But she shook these thoughts off for now, knowing she couldn't tell all of them this and just gave a simple answer. "Yes... Great work out there, Kratos..." She said.

Kratos looked strangely at his sister's indifference. "Pyrrha..." He started, but then the reels began spinning again.

"And we're about to find out our next pair of contestants!" Port informed.

The reels continued to spin, until they finally landed on Mercury and Yang. "What a surprise! Yet another student of Beacon, Yang Xiao Long, against Mercury Black from Haven!" Oobleck announced.

"Well, I guess I'm up! Wish me luck, everybody!" Yang said, heading towards the arena.

"Break a leg, sis!" Ruby said excitedly.

"We're rooting for you." Dante said.

"Try your best not to lose, Yang. I'm your twin, if you lose, it makes me look bad." Bayonetta said. Yang rolled her eyes at this, but both sisters smiled at each other. "Good luck, sis. You know I'll be rooting for you." She said.

"Give it your all and hold nothing back." Kratos said.

"You got this!" Nora said.

"Fight well." Ryu said.

"Do your best." Ren said.

"Win it for Beacon!" Jaune said.

"You can do it, Yang." Pyrrha said.

Soon enough, Yang and Mercury were on the field. "You better not go easy on me." Yang said, smiling.

Mercury laughed darkly at this. "You wish." He said.

Both brawlers faced the crowds one last time, then slowly started advancing on each other, arms raised defensively until their hands could almost touch, as the final countdown commenced.

"Three! Two! One! Begin!" Port announced.

An intense battle ensued and, after narrowly withstanding a devastating onslaught of blasts, Yang managed to defeat Mercury with final, massive hit.

"Yang Xiao Long wins!" Oobleck announced while the stage is enclosed by the stadium floor again.

"Yeah! You did it, sis!" Ruby cheered, splaying her arms in excitement.

"Way to go, Yang!" Blake cheered as well, giving a standing ovation as Weiss pumped her fists.

However, Yang suddenly circled Mercury as he got back up, then once he did, she shot him in the leg. "What?!" Team SCRN shouted all together.

"No!" Bayonetta shouted on her own.

"My word!" Oobleck gasped, getting up from his chair.

"Cut the cameras!" Port told someone off-screen

The looks of surprise, horror, and hatred at Yang cut to a view of Mountain Glenn, where two Goliaths near a ruined hamburger joint and a pack of Beowolves up in the construction beams of an unfinished building all looked towards the Colosseum floating near Beacon.

"My leg, MY LEG!" Mercury cried, still grasping his injured body part, rocking back and forth.

"That's what you get, you little- Huh?" Yang started trash talking, but stopped just as she noticed the Atlesian Knight-200 droids and two Soldiers circling the Huntress-in-training and raising their guns to her.

"Yang Xiao Long, stand down!" A soldier ordered.

"What!? Why!?" Yang asked, not having a clue what's going on.

"Mercury!" Emerald called out worriedly as she rushed over to her partner's side, comforting him.

"Why'd she do that!? WHY'D SHE ATTACK ME!?" Mercury cried hysterically.

Yang received a disgusted scowl from Emerald, only now looking up at the screens above her to see the footage of what just transpired. Bayonetta shook her head and growled at what happened. "This can't be right. Yang would never do this. They must've done something to her!" Bayonetta said.

Dante held her close to calm her down. "You know I'm on your said, Cereza, but there's nothing we can do to prove it. At least right now, but we will." Dante said.

It took a moment of staring at the images until Yang finally understood what she did and her gaze turned up to the wide-eyed, terrified faces of Blake, Weiss, and Ruby. She looked around at the guns aimed at her and the people cursing her name, still not knowing what just happened or what will come next.

Bayonetta put a hand on Ruby's shoulder as the youngest sister began to shed a few tears. "Ruby, you know Yang would never do something like that. Something else must be going on here." She told her.

"I know, but... everyone's mad at Yang now... And she's going to be in trouble... I don't want anything to happen to her!" Ruby cried, hugging Bayonetta tightly as her older sister held her close.

"This can't be happening... Not to Yang... Not to our team..." Weiss said.

"It's not." Dante said, putting a hand on Weiss' shoulder.

"Dante..." She said.

"Something's happening here. I don't know what it is right now, but we will find it and we will clear Yang's name." Dante told her.

Weiss was shocked at this, but smiled at her brother. "I know you will." She said, before they all looked back down at the scene with uncertainty.

Mercury was still cradling his injured limb, Emerald kneeling beside him and Yang in the center of a ring of security, all with rifles aimed at her. "Please, somebody help him!" Emerald called out in distress. Paramedics come over with a stretcher, lowering it to Mercury. "Can you do something!?" She asked.

There was a rip in the leg of Mercury's pants and skin and blood were visible through the rip. The paramedic observing the leg exchanged a glance with his coworker. "We need to get this boy to a hospital. Grab a blanket." He said.

They got Mercury on the stretcher and rushed him off, Emerald following right behind. Yang looked on with a horrified expression, her lilac eyes now almost colorless.

"You don't understand!" Yang told the guards, pointing at Mercury. "He attacked me, I swear!" She explained.

The Atlas security guards lifted their guns higher in response. "Stow it! You've already caused enough of a scene!" One of them ordered.

Ryu quickly stood up at this. "Where are you going?" Dante asked.

"Something isn't right... When Yang hit Mercury, that wasn't the sound of bones breaking. I heard metal hitting metal." Ryu said, hurrying to a nearby exit to catch up with the retreating paramedics.

"We already know they're up to something. I need to make a call." Kratos said, leaving as well.

Dante and Bayonetta looked around the crowd and saw Cinder and Azula looking down at the scene, still smirking despite their teammate being injured, going unnoticed by the rest of the crowd, who continued to shout angrily at Yang. "Whatever you're up to, we'll find it... And we'll make you pay for it." Dante said quietly.

"They've just made this personal. They'll learn the lesson I've taught so many others. Don't fuck with a Witch!" Bayonetta snapped.

* * *

 **A/N: That's another chapter done. I'm sorry that it's so short after all the waiting I put you through, but I still hope it was worth it and you all enjoyed it. But I can promise you, the next chapters will be better and will come out on a more regular basis. And I hope you're ready, because from here is where the story will really break away from RWBY's original story line and will become more of it's own thing. So look forward to that next time!**


	34. The Means To An End

The God of Darkness never planned on returning to Remnant. He felt he had made it quite clear he was done with the planet when he took a giant chunk out of the planet when he abandoned it. Yet, after a few years, he discovered his brother offered Ozma the chance to live once again, an act that nearly brought the brothers to war with each other for a second time once before. Along with reincarnating the legendary hero, he also created 4 relics that, when gathered, would call him and his brother back to Remnant.

"My brother... Arrogant as always. He created these relics to call us back to a planet that betrayed us? After we gave them everything!? He once told me he did not seek to control me. Lies as always. The balance truly was tipped in his favor!" The God of Darkness cursed.

However, he heard the rules of Ozma's deal with his brother. When they returned, they would judge humanity. Should they be at peace, they'd live among them once more, like they had before that wretched woman, Salem. And he observed the state of the humans, who had miraculously repopulated after he completely erased them, along with a strange new race known as the faunus. And he saw how the world was, the humans constantly warring against each other, as well as these Faunus, treating them like animals or slaves. Surely, this world would never know peace. And a hero like Ozma would never call the gods back to the world if there was any chance they'd destroy it.

But as time passed, his brother began resurrecting fallen heroes from other worlds to Remnant in order to aid Ozma. And they appeared to make great strides, it appeared as though they may truly bring peace and the gods would have to return to Remnant. "Humanity was supposed to respect our rule and bend to our will! I will NEVER bow to theirs!" The god of Darkness shouted. "Very well... We always did try to keep balance. If my brother will bring back warriors to help Ozma, then it seems only fair I offer aid to the woman as well..." He thought, searching the worlds for the darkest souls he could find. Darkness that rivaled Salem's own.

* * *

Medusa battled fiercely against the new odds she was faced with. Originally believing she couldn't be beaten with Stein on her side, his former partner, Marie managed to free him from Medusa's hold and she now faced the DWMA's greatest Meister, a Death Scythe and one of the most promising up-and-coming Meisters she'd encountered many times before. Her only advantage now was that they couldn't hurt her body, lest they bring harm to the little girl she possessed.

However, there was one crucial thing she had not accounted for: Maka's newly acquired Genie Hunter technique and in her rage at Crona's apparent demise, as well as the resonance link she shared with her teachers, the finally perfected the technique. Medusa believed she had dodged, but then to her shock, the pillar behind her was cleaved in half, meaning the technique reached much further than she had dodged. Her soul was then forced out of young Rachel's body and began to dissipate. Medusa was shocked and furious that she lost, but could do nothing now except deliver one final barb to give Maka some sense of doubt, which may affect her in the battle against Asura. "You may have beaten me, but do you really think this is enough to stop the Kishin?" She asked, before appearing to vanish.

But unknown to the Meisters and even Medusa herself, her soul would not vanish this day. "Such a vicious and conniving mind... So much like Salem herself. You would be quite the ally for that madwoman." The God of Darkness said, restoring her fleeting soul and sending it to Remnant.

* * *

Medusa was reborn on Remnant. Throughout her life, she observed the world and was amazed by how far these humanoids had come. Aura, semblances, the Faunus: people with animal traits with naturally heightened senses and the ability to see in the dark. The people of this world were greatly more advanced than the world she came from. And why? Because they had to deal with the Grimm, vicious creatures that forced people to constantly adapt or die. This was her exact goal from her old life, to force the world to constantly adapt through danger and the need to survive.

However, she would once again find the world to be in a form of "stasis" in the form of the kingdoms. Safe havens for humanity to grow and prosper peacefully without the dangers of Grimm. This could not be allowed to continue. So, she began her twisted "crusade", either finding weaknesses in the defenses of small towns and cities outside of the kingdom or finding ways to drug or manipulate the people of the towns to the point their negative emotions were so great, the Grimm were lured in en masse, completely leveling the towns.

Medusa watched from a large hill as a rather large city, one of the largest outside the safety of the kingdoms, burned and fell to the Grimm, the sheer numbers overwhelming even their most powerful and skilled defenders. "What a shame. It seems they weren't fit to live in this world. They failed to adapt and therefor failed to survive." She noted, starting to walk away.

"It seems we can agree on that." A gruff voice came from behind her, Medusa wheeling around to see a massive man behind her, but what truly shocked her was the creatures beside him. Grimm! A beowulf to his right and a strange jellyfish-like Grimm with a head like a crystal ball to his left.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

 _"People who have the same desire as you."_ A new voice came from nowhere red smoke swirling inside the jellyfish Grimm's crystal ball head to reveal a deathly pale woman with white hair and deep red and purple veins running across her face, the sclerae of her eyes were jet black and her irises glowed red. She had a black diamond-shaped marking in the center of her forehead. Medusa was both chilled and entranced by the woman's appearance.

"My name is Hazel. This is my master, Salem. We've heard a lot about your goals and we'd like you to hear about ours." The man explained. She'd be a fool to let her guard down, but at the same time, she was quite curious as to what they could want with her.

"Fine then. What are these goals of yours? She asked.

"To create a world where only the strongest survive." Hazel said.

 _"And we believe you could prove quite useful towards making this new world a reality."_ The woman said.

"Interesting. But I'm already achieving this quite well on my own. Why would I need your help?" Medusa asked.

"You certainly have talent, but your operation is small. You have only succeeded at bringing down towns and cities outside the kingdoms. With us, you could have the resources to flood entire kingdoms with Grimm." Hazel explained.

Medusa did find this idea to her liking, but decided she still needed more of a reason to join. She then looked to the Beowulf and smirked."That is appealing, but I'll need a little more convincing than that." Medusa said.

As if immediately understanding, Salem smirked. _"I also understand you're something of a scientist with quite the interest in the Grimm. It must be difficult to study them, as you'll have to keep your test subjects alive. But when they're alive they fight. But I have... a certain sway over the Grimm. If you help us, I can give you all the Grimm you need to test however you'd like. You can start with the Beowulf here."_ She explained.

Medusa gained a disturbingly wide, snake-like grin at this. "Well, then. I think we have a deal." She said.

* * *

Terumi fought fiercely against Ragna. Having reclaimed his original body, he had the power of the Susano'o unit and was now back to his absolute prime. He lashed out with his Ouroboros, managing to force Ragna to block, a second strike disarming him of his massive sword. Terumi laughed maniacally at this and continued to strike at Ragna, but the hero managed to rush in and reclaim his weapon, transforming it into a scythe and leaking out huge amounts of power from his Azure Grimmoire.

The two fought at their maximum power and finally, Ragna broke through Terumi's defenses and impaled him with the massive blade, causing the former 6 heroes member to cough up blood. He tried one last time to reach out and attack Ragna, but found he didn't have the strength left. He did, however, have the strength for one last insult. "Suffer for eternity, Ragna the Bloodedge!" He taunted, laughing maniacally.

"Be devoured by my darkness, Yuuki Terumi!" Ragna cursed back at his enemy, pushing the sword in even deeper, an explosion of green and black energy escaping Terumi's body, before it engulfed him as he continued to laugh maniacally and faded away...

... Or so Ragna thought, as once again, the villain's soul was collected by the God of Darkness. "A mind as warped, twisted and self-righteous as Salem's. Remnant will truly never know peace with a monster like this on its surface." He said, returning the demented creature to life on Remnant.

* * *

Terumi was born on Remnant and lived a mostly normal life. Or, as normal as a deranged psychopath could. He at least avoided going to the nut house. As he went through life, he observed the Grimm and found them to be almost exactly like him, creatures of death and destruction that hungered for despair and all other forms of negativity. Much like Medusa, he attempted to do research on the Grimm to see if he could use them for his own purposes, which still was, essentially, to throw the world into despair and chaos.

However, not only did this not work, as the Grimm would never obey him, he eventually attracted some unwanted attention. "So, you're the lunatic trying to get the Grimm to work for him, are you?" A giddy voice rang out as Terumi turned to see a strange man with a ponytail and a long trench coat.

Terumi turned and immediately glared at the potential threat that just entered his lair. "And who the hell are you?" He demanded.

"Oh, of course. My name is Tyrian. And I'm afraid only one person can control the Grimm. And that is my goddess. You are stepping in on her territory. And that is blasphemous!" He snapped.

Terumi scoffed at this. "Goddess, huh? Well, you better start praying to her, because you're dead for coming in here." Terumi countered, shooting Ouroboros at the stranger, who rushed in and knocked away the snake-like spear with one of his wrist blades. He quickly closed the distance and began slashing at Terumi, who defended himself with a pair of balisong knives. The two fought incredibly similarly, focusing on quick, wild movements, neither one gaining any advantage, until Tyrian lashed out with his tail.

Hazama was forced to jump back at this, narrowly avoiding the venomous appendage. Tyrian giggled maniacally at this and was about to rush in again, before a voice stopped him. _"Enough, Tyrian!"_ A voice rang out, a Seer Grimm coming from the entrance Tyrian had come from.

"Of course, my queen!" He said, bowing.

Terumi scoffed at this. "THAT'S your queen? Some floating jellyfish?" He questioned, laughing hysterically.

"How DARE you!?" Tyrian snapped, about to attack again, but the Seer used its tentacles to restrain him, pulling him to the floor.

 _"Apologies. I'm not much one for traveling these days. I use this Grimm to communicate."_ Salem explained, a red mist swirling in the Seer's dome to reveal her. _"Is this more suitable?"_ She asked.

"You can control the Grimm, huh? Color me intrigued." Terumi said.

 _"Yes. I understand you've taken quite an interest in the Grimm. And I've taken an interest in you as well. You're almost like a Grimm yourself, seeking to spread destruction and despair."_ Salem said.

"It's the only truth there is. In this or any world." Terumi told her.

 _"I could not agree more. Join me and together, we will spread the truth of despair all throughout Remnant."_ She said.

Terumi smirked at this. He always did enjoy having other along to lighten his own work load. "You've got yourself a deal." He said.

* * *

Bison had tracked down Juri with the intent of stealing her artificial left eye, the Feng Shui Engine. The two battled and it seemed as though Bison had the upper hand. Juri was on the ground, panting heavily. "Not bad. This feeling. It really brings me back..." She said, turning and glaring at him, activating the engine. "If you want this so bad, bad, give me everything you got! Just like last time!" She snapped.

"Hmmm!" Bison grunted, activating his Psycho Power as the two re-engaged each other.

They continued their fight and it seemed as though Juri had the advantage for a time, but Bison suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind Juri and blasting her with a wave of Psycho Power, sending her to the ground. She tried to get back up, but Bison was already on her and plucked her artificial eyeball out, leaving her without an eye for the second time.

"Is this the engine he developed?" He asked, observing the eye in his hand, starting to walk away.

Juri, however, wasn't done yet. "You get what you want and just leave?! Don't be so selfish!" She snapped.

Bison looked over his shoulder and smirked at her. "As you wish." He said, disappearing and reappearing in front of her, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground, twisting and breaking her neck, dropping her on the ground. "You should've learned your place, child." He told her, disappearing for the final time.

"Such viciousness. The man was no better, but this girl was truly a monster. She'll fit in quite well with the other monsters of the world." The God of Darkness said as darkness enveloped Juri's body, before vanishing.

* * *

Juri was born as the daughter of Marcus Black and Mercury's older sister. Much like her brother, she was trained to be an assassin. This, along with her incredible memory, instantly triggered all her memories of her past life, allowing her to excel. Unfortunately, this led Marcus to constantly beat and abuse Mercury for not being as good as his sister. Juri tried to defend her brother, but was beaten for it much the same.

Eventually, the two couldn't take it anymore and ganged up on their father, killing him. Although in the process, Mercury's legs were horribly injured. And no sooner had they ended their father that a couple of girls came up to them. Juri immediately put herself between Mercury and the girls, having a feeling they were trouble. "Well, well, well. What have we here? Take a wrong turn somewhere, girls? This isn't a place for a couple cuties like you." She said suggestively, partially hoping her bravado would be enough to deter the girls.

"I'm looking for Marcus Black." Cinder explained.

Mercury spat blood on the ground. "There you go." He said as he gestured back at the burning house and the white-haired man lying face down behind him and his sister.

"That's... the assassin?" Emerald asked, getting up from her stance.

"And you're his son and daughter." Cinder said, calmly looking up at Mercury and Juri.

Mercury didn't acknowledge this, merely wiping his lips of blood. "He's nothing to us but a body now." Juri said.

Cinder grinned at this. They'd both work, but Juri seemed to be especially savage and unremorseful. "We saw your fight from the treeline. He's taught you well." She complimented

"You have no idea." Juri said.

"What are your names?" Cinder asked.

A moment passed before the siblings told her. "Mercury." He said.

"Juri." The older kicking expert answered.

Cinder nodded in approval. "Mercury... Juri... Tell me, are you anything like your father?" She asked again.

The scene faded to black on her smile again.

* * *

Dio was beaten and broken at Jotaro's feet. Yet the newest JoJo had a sense of honor and allowed Dio to heal and stand for one final bout. This infuriated Dio, as he was shown pity by a mere mortal, but he also used this to his advantage, standing and twisting his mangled leg to spurt blood into Jotaro's eyes, blinding him. "How about some blood in your eyes?! It's over! I win!" Dio proclaimed, summoning The World and sending it towards Jotaro, preparing a kick with all the power it could muster behind it as Jotaro sent Star Platinum out, doing the same with a punch.

Star Platinum's fist collided with The World's shin, its hand splitting open and spraying out blood, the injury reflecting back on Jotaro. But just as Dio smirked, The World's leg armor cracked, shocking Dio as Jotaro's glare hardened. The cracks expanded like the Earth cracking open and beginning to split apart in an Earthquake, traveling all the way up Dio's body to his face, blood flying from his body as he screamed in panic and pain. "WHAT THE HELL?! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! I AM THE IMMORTAL DIO!" He shouted as he continued to split in two. "I AM DIO!" He screamed, before finally breaking into pieces, blue fire erupting from what was left of him.

"Soon you'll be nothing but Dust. You only made one mistake. One that ended up getting you killed... Dio... This whole thing could've ended differently, but... you went and pissed me off." Jotaro said, adjusting his hat.

And after a few hours, Jotaro would bring Dio's body to the dessert in broad daylight, exposing the vampire to his weakness and reducing him to dust, which was then scattered by the wind... before being collected in a swirl of darkness by the God of Darkness. "Another one consumed by thoughts only of their own desires and who curses everyone else but themselves. Truly, you and Salem are cut from the same cloth." The God of Darkness said, whisking Dio's remnants away to Remnant.

* * *

Dio was born to a poor family in Atlas, an all-too familiar scenario presented to him as he had an abusive, alcoholic father. It was this that triggered his memories of his old life and his semblance. He had The World back, but soon found it wasn't nearly as invincible as it was in his old world. Others could see it and he had to share his aura with his Stand, lest they both be destroyed again. "How can fate laugh at me this way?! Once again, I find myself poor and hungry, getting by on only scraps?!" He demanded as he walked through the freezing streets, seeing many open windows with wealthy families eating plentiful meals. "I had power enough to rule the world! Yet I must once again watch others live the life I deserve!" He cursed.

He would eventually take up a life of crime, using The World to kill and steal, but it was never enough and he soon became regarded as one of Atlas' most wanted and most dangerous criminals. And eventually he would find himself cornered by the Atlas Military. "No! Dammit all! This is not how I will meet my end!" Dio cursed.

"No, it's not." A man said, emerging from the shadows of Dio's hideout. Dio recognized him immediately.

"You... You're Arthur Watts! And what does a disgraced scientist want with me?!" He demanded.

"Well, I was also a doctor, but that's irrelevant. What IS relevant is that I work for someone who has need of your skills. You would be working with an organization capable of accomplishing anything." Watts explained, before looking to the door. "Or, you can take your chances against the most powerful military force on Remnant with barely enough aura remaining to survive a single gunshot, certainly not enough to use your semblance." He added.

Dio weighed his options. On one hand, the thought of being someone's underling disgusted him. On the other, he was sure he could weasel his way through the ranks and become the leader's right hand, then when the moment suited him, he would kill them and take over. And, as Watts had just said, his only other option was basically suicide. "Very well. I shall accept your generous offer." Dio said with a smirk.

* * *

Azula faced off against Katara after defeating her brother and she now had the waterbender on the ropes. "You're a coward, Azula! You cheated against Zuko!" Katara cursed as she was knocked back by Azula's next attack.

"There is no such thing as cheating! There is only winning! And that's why the Fire Nation will dominate! Now and forever!" She snapped, firing lightning in order to finish her opponent. But unbeknownst to her, Zuko had recovered and made his way in front of the attack, using his uncle's teachings to intercept and redirect the bolt of lightning back at his sister. "What?! NO!" Azula cried out before the lightning struck and fried her, almost immediately stopping her heart.

Zuko breathed a few heavy breaths, before dropping to his knees in grief. "I'm sorry, Azula. But this had to stop." He said quietly as Katara comforted him.

The God of Darkness observed this and smirked. "Such madness. Such ferocity. So conniving. Like-minded to that madwoman in every way." He said, darkness engulfing Azula's body and disappearing for the final time.

* * *

Azula was reborn on Remnant. After a while, she as well would remember the events of her past lives. And she. Was. Furious. "How can this be?! I was the Fire Lord! Why am I on this world?! Born as a mere peasant! I should be royalty!" She cursed. She would notice, however, that while she kept her bending powers, this world had Dust, which allowed people to use all the elements, so basically anyone could be as powerful as the Avatar, if not more-so, as this "Dust" extended far beyond the bending elements. If she tried to take power, she would stand no chance.

One day, she was walking through the streets of Atlas, when she suddenly heard a voice. "So, you wish for more power. So you may claim this world for your own. Is that right?" The voice came from an alleyway, Dio emerging from it.

"You... You're Dio... You're one of the most dangerous people in Atlas..." She said, shocked.

"And I'm giving you an offer. I was once like you. Angry and questioning why I was born into the life I was, when I previously had a life of greatness. But then I found an organization who would help restore me to that life of greatness. And with your help, we could be unstoppable!" Dio explained.

Azula thought for a moment. Unstoppable. She liked that idea. And considering she was being told this by Atlas' most dangerous criminal, she was sure that this group could back up their claims with someone like him in it. "It's a deal." She said.

* * *

And so, the revived villains had been assembled and were given their orders. Azula and Medusa were assigned to assist Tyrian in his search for the Spring Maiden and Juri was to help Hazel seek out the Winter Maiden. They had located the Fall Maiden and immediately sent Cinder and her faction with them. However, they also discovered the was being watched and guarded at all times, so Dio and Terumi were sent to deal with Fall's guardian: Qrow Branwen.

* * *

Qrow observed from the treeline in his crow form ahead of Amber as she rode on a horse, down a path walking towards a girl with dark brown skin and green hair as she headed towards Amber, likely heading in the opposite direction. However, she suddenly held her hand out and Amber strangely enough got off her horse and took a few steps forward, crouching and offering an apple to something that wasn't there. He knew something was wrong and changed back, rushing in to try and help, but suddenly seethed in pain as a snake head on a chain clamped down on his ankle and yanked him back, slamming him into the ground.

He took a few deep breaths to recover from the impact, before looking to the side to see Dio and Terumi looking at him. "What, they called the two of us here to deal with one old drunk? What a joke." Terumi said as they approached.

"Indeed. Salem either greatly overestimates him or underestimates us to believe it will require both of us to eliminate this pathetic wretch." Dio said.

"So you guys are working with Salem, huh? Well you're Queen is about to lose a few more of her pawns." Qrow taunted, drawing his sword.

Terumi rolled his eyes at this. "Oh, come on! Another guy with a giant sword?! I swear, some god somewhere is screwing with me? One life, I'd like to go without seeing a sword more than 3 feet long." He said.

(Another life? So he's a "Revived" like Bayonetta. They probably both are.) Qrow thought.

"Enough talk! Prepare to die!" Dio announced, sending The World at Qrow, Terumi rushing in just behind the Stand.

 **Background Music: "Hero" by Nickelback**

Qrow blocked a few hits from The World, before kicking the Stand aside and focusing on Terumi, blocking his attacks as well. He swung high at Terumi, only for the villain to crouch and swipe low at him with one of his balisongs, but Qrow held his sword behind his back and blocked the blade, spinning and bringing his blade down, but Terumi quickly slid out of the way. He turned and threw a powerful right haymaker surrounded by dark green energy, but Qrow jumped into the air, spinning as he came down in an attempt to hack down Terumi, but the villain quickly jumped back and smirked at the veteran hunter.

This smirk vanished, however, when he realized he he had leapt into the path of the knives Dio just threw, causing them to jab into him, but not do too much damage, thanks to his aura. "Hey, watch where you throw those things, dildo!" He snapped.

"You dare insult me in such a manner?!" Dio demanded, before looking past him. "Behind you!" He shouted, Terumi turning just in time to see Qrow's fist connect to his face, then take a few solid strikes from Qrow's massive sword. Dio sent The World in once again, but at that moment, Qrow delivered a powerful spinning strike that knocked Terumi back, bouncing off The World. He only clipped the Stand's left side, causing it to go off-balance, but still continue forward, but this minor distraction was all it took for Qrow to switch his sword to its gun mode and blast The World in the chest, the damage being mirrored on Dio.

"Alright, buddy! Now I'm pissed!" Terumi snapped, activating his semblance, a barrier of green symbols forming around him as he rushed in.

"I will crush you myself!" Dio snapped, rushing in as well.

With their powers combined, Qrow began struggling to hold them off. He also began to feel rather drained. Dio also appeared to be slightly slowing down, but Terumi was becoming faster and stronger, managing to break through Qrow's guard and land a few hits on the dusty old huntsman, before Dio knocked him back with a devastating haymaker. "Time to end this!" Terumi snapped, rushing in.

"No! He is mine!" Dio shouted, but it was clear he wouldn't beat Terumi to get the final blow. "The World!" He announced, freezing time. He then smirked, walking forward. "Your assistance was appreciated, Terumi, but only I am allowed to taste victory this day!" He said arrogantly. However, he rather unluckily passed through Terumi's barrier, which drained his aura and cancelled his semblance. Everything began moving again. "What?!" He demanded.

This caused Terumi to stop and turn to his partner. "What the hell happened?! What did you do!?" He demanded.

"My semblance failed!" Dio said, before remembering Terumi's own. "Your barrier!" He snapped.

"You idiot! Did you forget! My barriers drain aura and stop other people's semblances." Terumi countered.

Qrow had regained his footing and recovered from the initial shock, before taking the opportunity to change his weapon into its scythe form and rushing in, finally gaining their attention as he spun and hit them with a devastating spiral attack, knocking them both back and to the ground while depleting their auras.

 **End Music**

The beaten villains got back up and glared at each other. "Fool! This is all your fault! Your miserable Semblance cost us victory!" Dio cursed.

"Hey, not my fault you and your golden boyfriend kept getting in my way!" Terumi countered.

"You DARE try to place the blame on me?! I'll end you!" Dio shouted.

"Enough! Cinder and the others are probably finished. Let's get out of here! We'll settle this later!" Terumi snapped as the two retreated.

"Hey, wait!" Qrow snapped, looking to either finish them or bring them in, but he knew he head bigger priorities. "Damn! Amber!" He snapped, rushing to save the Fall Maiden.

* * *

We return to the present and replay the scene of Yang attacking Mercury, being detained by Atlas security and Mercury being rushed off for "emergency treatment". Emerald ran alongside the two paramedics as they came across an open door with a woman in the same outfit inside.

"Here! We've got an ambulance ready to go!" The woman called, gesturing them to stop.

Later, the back door closed on the emergency airship they loaded Mercury in. The paramedic sighed, before turning and talking with the "other paramedic", Cinder. "Hope they'll be okay. That girl won't leave his side." He said.

"We'll take good care of both of them." Cinder assured him, nodding under the white cap with a red cross she was wearing.

The transport flew away from the Colloseum, and Mercury was lying on a cargo box in the back, still moaning and crying beside Emerald, who was sitting next to him. "Oh doc, tell me, will I ever walk again?" He asked, only to receive a punch in the arm from Emerald. "Ow! What's your deal!?" He demanded, looking at her as he rubbed the sore spot he actually got hurt from.

"Ugh, headache. One mind I can handle, but two is a stretch." Emerald groaned suddenly as she put a hand up to her forehead.

"Well, you all performed marvelously, driver included." Cinder called back to them from the co-pilot's seat, before looking to the driver.

"It's a good thing I kept my old nurse's uniform." Medusa said with her snake-like smirk.

But unbeknownst to all of them, Ryu had managed to sneak aboard the ship and was recording the whole thing, his ninja stealth making him nearly invisible despite only being a few feet away in a dark corner.

"So, you think it worked?" Mercury asked as the airship continued to fly away.

* * *

TV static cut to the Vale News Network with the combined kingdoms' symbol and a caption reading "Tournament Tragedy". "A terrible tragedy took place this afternoon in the one-on-one rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament-" Lisa Lavender reported.

TV static switched the channels to a Haven tourist out in the streets of Vale. "I don't know what Beacon's Headmaster is teaching his students, but that was disgraceful! Completely uncalled for!" He reported to the camera.

TV static the switched the channel to another news reporter with the video of several Grimm – Goliaths, Ursai, Nevermores, Boarbatusks, and Beowolves – running across Mountain Glenn towards the city. "Despite Atlas reinforcements, local authorities are still calling on any available Huntsmen to aid in suppressing the spike in Grimm activity." The reporter... well, reported.

The projected screen in the warehouse switched off entirely.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Mercury complained at a table with his mechanical leg on a table, a screwdriver in hand as he worked on it.

"Shut up!" Emerald snapped.

"Is this how you treat a patient?" Mercury teased, before Emerald reached over and twisted the screwdriver in his leg, causing him to wince. "Ah, too tight!" He seethed.

"Enough. Our Mercury put on a wonderful show. He was quite brave." Cinder praised.

"These things aren't exactly cheap, you know." Mercury told Emerald as he resumed fixing his parts.

"So, what's next?" Emerald asked Cinder.

"You and I will ensure that our next match-up goes just as smoothly." Cinder explained, grinning with arms crossed.

"What about me?" Mercury asked as Cinder turned to leave and Emerald followed.

"You get to lay low until the end. We wouldn't want people to see you on your feet and have this all be for naught, now would we?" Cinder asked.

"Can do." Mercury confirmed as he went back to screwing his limbs back to perfection, smiling as the blue area under his artificial knee lights up right.

From where he was, now hidden amongst shipping containers and boxes, Ryu finished recording and immediately sent said recording to all of his teammates and Ozpin. "It's already all for naught, Cinder." He said, before sensing an attack and leaping out of the way of Medusa's vector sword.

"Oh, well, isn't this a shame. It seems you've made quite a mess of our plans. Then I'll just have to make a mess of you!" Medusa snapped, rushing in before everything faded to black.


	35. The Final Step

Kratos was in Team SCRN's dorm, calling up a certain info broker. "It has to be one of them. It's the only explanation." Kratos said, remembering a talk he had with Coco after her match against Emerald and Mercury in the doubles round.

Flashback...

Kratos went up to Coco and Yatsuhashi after they exited the arena from the doubles round. "You fought admirably." He told them.

"I should've won. I don't know what came over me." Coco said.

"What do you mean, Coco?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"When I was pulled into the forest, I thought I saw you. But then I heard you were taken out in the geyser area. I must've been hallucinating. Too much stress and Adrenalin..." She explained.

Kratos was surprised and suspicious of this, but managed to hide it well. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it was something else..." He said, looking to Mercury and Emerald as they, too, made their way off the stage.

Back to now...

Kratos was brought back to reality when he heard the click of the other line picking up. "Why, if it isn't one of Mistral's Champions. And what can I do for you on this fine day?" Izaya asked from the other side of the call.

"I need information on these 4. Whatever you know, pertaining to their semblances." Kratos answered, showing him pictures of Mercury, Emerald, Cinder and Azula.

Izaya looked at the pictures, before appearing to instantly recognize one of them. "Well, well, there's a familiar face." Izaya said, enlarging the picture of Emerald on his end.

"Emerald? What about her?" Kratos asked.

"Why don't I tell you a story about a master thief. She'd often go to jewelry stores and steal the most valuable jewels or rings they had. But she would not sneak these rings, or come in late at night and steal them when no one was around. No. All the reports say the same thing. She walked right up to the counter and purchase the ring she was stealing. And each time, the manager would smile and hand her the ring once she handed them the lien. And she'd leave. But as soon as she did, the lien she gave them was gone. Like she'd never given it to them in the first place. But they DID give her the ring." Izaya explained.

"The lien was never there... an illusion." Kratos said, knowing all too well about illusions himself from his last life.

"Precisely. And now, it looks like she's moved on to more serious crimes. That WAS her partner Ms. Xiao Long SUPPOSEDLY crippled after their match, was it not?" Izaya asked. "I heard Ms. Xiao Long as well. It sounded like she believed he attacked her first. There can only be one truth. But if she was the victim of an illusion or hallucination, that may be why she can't see the truth." He explained.

"You're right. Thank you again, broker." Kratos said.

"It's my pleasure. You and your friends at Beacon are among my favorites in this tournament, so what they did to Ms. Xiao Long is simply deplorable. I hope you'll be able to fix this and clear her good name." Izaya said.

"I plan to." Kratos said, hanging up.

* * *

As Kratos made this call, we cut to the outside of Team RWBY's dorm, with two Atlesian Knight-200s guarding the room.

"I'm sorry, but you've left us with no choice." Ironwood could be heard inside the room.

Now inside the room, Yang is sitting on a bed. "But he attacked me!" She said angrily.

"Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise." Ironwood countered, pacing around the room, not looking at her.

"Maybe you should've sent some soldiers along with Mercury to question him on what happened. He must've tricked Yang into attacking. If not him than SOMEONE on his team." Bayonetta said.

"They must have done something. One of their semblances, maybe. Their whole team has been up to something ever since they got here!" Dante said.

"They haven't done anything suspicious or that gives us reason to doubt them, unlike Ms. Xiao Long." He said, looking back at Yang.

"But Yang would never do that!" Weiss said, gesturing to her teammate from the other bed.

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed, standing up from beside her sister.

Ironwood turned around as Yang sighed and placed her head in her hands. "You all seem like good students, and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did... under normal circumstances." He continued as Ruby sat back down, the entire team looking despondent. "What I believe and hope this to be is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight is past..." He explained. With that last statement, he looked to the right while rolling his right shoulder.

"But I wasn't-" Yang started.

"That's ENOUGH!" Ironwood snapped, angrily stern. When the room falls silent, he went on. "The sad truth is, whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that... you are disqualified." He explained.

Yang's shock turned into miserable understanding when she looked to the ground and Ironwood left the room.

When the door clicked shut, "Dante growled. "Innocent my ass. They're up to SOMETHING! We just haven't figured out what yet." Dante said.

"But we WILL figure it out." Bayonetta said, looking to her twin. "And we WILL clear your name, Yang." She said.

Yang smiled at her sister. "Thanks, Cereza." She said, hugging her sister. She then turned to her teammates. "You guys believe me, right?" She asked.

"Duh!" Ruby said.

"You're hotheaded, but not ruthless." Weiss agreed, shaking her head).

Yang began to smile at this, when she realized one of their number hasn't spoken. "Blake?" She asked.

Blake turned her gaze away, earning a shocked look between Ruby, Dante and Weiss and a glare from Bayonetta. "I want to believe you..." She said.

"Huh!?" Ruby asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss demanded.

"You must've gotten a hold of some bad fish or something." Dante said.

Yang's eyes widened, tears forming instantly. "Blake?" She asked in a hurt voice.

Bayonetta stood up instantly, glaring at the faunus girl. "Blake, I suggest you change your answer or prepare to be spayed." She warned.

Blake looked up at Yang, then back down. "How can you say something like that? Yang would never lie to us!" Weiss argued.

Blake glanced at Weiss, then took a deep breath before starting. "I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right." She explained, then pauses. "This is all just... very familiar." She told them as Yang looked up, tears now falling down her face. "But you're not him. And you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I will trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that he attacked you. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did." Blake said sternly.

Yang wiped her eyes of tears. "I saw him attack me, so I attacked back." She said as calmly as possible.

Blake let out a deep breath as she closed her eyes and smiled, then looked back up at her partner. "Okay. Thank you." She said.

Yang was still looking down. "I think I'm gonna rest up." She said.

"We'll get out of your hair." Blake said, standing up with Weiss and Ruby, all of whom were smiling.

Cut to outside the room, where Ruby was closing the door, pausing only for a second to see Yang slump forward before shutting it completely. She joined Weiss and Blake in the middle of the hallway.

"This is a mess..." Weiss said, shaking her head and sighing.

The sound of Scrolls dinging could be heard and Dante and Bayonetta opened their scrolls to see the video that Ryu had sent them. "Dammit! I knew it." Dante said.

"They're caught. And now I'm going to make them pay for it." Bayonetta said.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"It's a video from Ryu. Mercury's team did set up Yang." Dante told them.

The door to team SCRN's dorm opened and Kratos emerged. "Emerald's semblance is illusions. She made Yang see Mercury attacking her." Kratos said.

"You've been spying on them?" Weiss asked.

"Ever since the break-in at Beacon's tower, Ozpin asked us to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. And few things are more suspicious than Cinder's group. Now we know why." Bayonetta said.

"So, they put Yang through this... They're the reason she's like this now..." Ruby said, looking up at Bayonetta. "Sis... Make them pay." She said.

"They will. I promise." Bayonetta told Ruby, hugging her quickly.

"Let's go." Dante said, the three teammates running down the hall.

"What's the plan?" Kratos asked.

"First, we need to show Ironwood the video. Get Yang out of trouble and make him eat his words." Bayonetta said.

"Then, we need to keep watch for them at the Colosseum. From what Cinder said, it doesn't sound like they're done yet. And we need to get Ryu back here." Dante explained.

"Will he be alright? He's in the middle of enemy territory." Kratos said.

"He'll find a way. We always do. Besides, the enemy's gotta be working on their final move, so they should be moving out more than focusing on him." Dante explained.

* * *

Ryu was forced to leap out from cover as Medusa attacked him, alerting Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Azula to his presence. "Ryu?!" Emerald asked in shock and disbelief.

"Your plan is over! I recorded your talk and sent the video to my team and Ozpin!" He told them.

Cinder was shocked at this. "No... Our plan can't fail... Not after all this time and planning!" She said in her mind, trying to process the idea of her plan failing, becoming furious in the process.

"You mean I had to let blondie screw up my leg for nothing?!" Mercury demanded.

Ryu glared at him. "You seem no worse for wear. But if you'd like, I can change that." He said.

Cinder, Emerald and Mercury prepared to attack, but Azula stopped them. "No! They only just received our next step, but they can only guess what it is. And even then, it will take them time to act on it. Everyone else is still in position. If we move now, we can still salvage the plan!" She informed.

Cinder glared at her briefly, before realizing she was right. "Very well." She said. "Medusa. Don't take too long with him. You'll be needed soon as well." She informed the bitch- I mean, the witch!

"Oh don't worry. I don't plan on missing this for the world." She said, turning back to Ryu as Cinder's team made their escape.

"Why are you doing this?!" Ryu demanded.

"Humans and faunus have achieved so much, having to deal with the Grimm. But Kingdoms and Huntsmen have put evolution in a stage of stagnation. With them gone, humans and faunus can adapt and become stronger." Medusa said.

"And if they don't, they'll die. If you go through with this, hundreds- no, thousands of people will die." Ryu said.

"That's called natural selection. The strongest survive, but the weak perish, leaving only the fittest to go on and make Remnant stronger." Medusa explained.

"The people of Remnant are strong enough on their own. You think you're helping, but you'll only throw the world into chaos. The Grimm are more dangerous than you could imagine. Without safe havens to stay safe and prepare, humanity will surely fall to stronger, more powerful Grimm. You claim to want to help people, but you only want to see them suffer. I will put an end to your evil ways!" Ryu said, drawing the Dragon Sword and taking his stance.

"Very well then. Let's see how well you've adapted." Medusa said, creating her Vector Blade in her hand.

 **Background Music: "Get Out Alive" by Three Days Grace  
**

Ryu rushed in and jumped forward as Medusa swung at his feet, grabbing Medusa's head, going over and landing behind her, throwing her by her head over himself, flinging her into a stack of crates of dust, before using Gravity Dust and firing his Art of Piercing Void ninpo and flinging a black hole at the witch, slamming into her, also hitting and breaking the crates as well, catching the dust in a reaction that caused and explosions of various elements, no doubt causing major damage to Medusa.

"A shame. You were given a second chance at life, but wasted it again with evil intent." Ryu said.

"Vector Arrows!" Medusa announced, a number of black arrows shooting from the smoke from the explosion, flying towards our ninja hero at great speed. Ryu deflected one and slashed another, before doing several back handsprings to avoid the rest of the arrows. Suddenly, Medusa was right in front of him, having used a Vector Plate to launch herself towards Ryu, who had no time to react before she hit him in the midsection with her blade, throwing him back. He landed on his back, but quickly rolled into a crouching position, noticing 3 arrows around him in a triangle that would push whoever was on them to the next one.

Medusa created another plate underneath her to push herself forward, hitting the plate in front of Ryu and being pushed behind him to the left. Ryu turned just in time to block her next strike, before the arrow pushed her behind him, Ryu bringing his blade behind him a split second before Medusa's blade could hit him in the back, then she was pushed back to the first arrow. Ryu blocked several more strikes, before switching to and swinging around his Vigoorian Flail.

The nunchaku-like weapon easily allowing Ryu to attack from every angle, easily deflecting Medusa's attack or catching her with a quick, yet painful slash, eventually slowing her down enough for Ryu to catch her with a powerful attack to launch her into the air, jumping after her, grabbing her and spinning in the air and smashing her into the ground with the devastating Izuna Drop. Ryu then jumped back to a safe distance as Medusa struggled back to her feet.

"I admit. You're quite skilled. Not to mention powerful. But you're also a Revived. You were already a warrior of immense power in your last life, now with all your previous experience and skill. You're already on par with most Huntsmen. The people of this world can only hope to be as strong as you. If our plan succeeds, then people will continue to adapt and easily be as strong as you are now. Perhaps even as strong as you were in your last life." She explained.

"But so many innocents would die in the process. You don't care if they adapt or not. You revel in the carnage your actions create. And that's why I'm going to put an end to you!" Ryu snapped, rushing in with his Dragon Sword once again. Medusa shot several more vector arrows at him, but he managed to dodge them all and slashing her into the air, before vanishing, reappearing in the air beside her, rushing past her and slashing her, before vanishing again and repeating this process at least a dozen times. He finally appeared above her and blasted her down to the ground with his Torn Sky Blast attack.

 **End Music**

Medusa skidded back from Ryu's attack, panting heavily, her aura flickering as the last of it was depleted, her Vector Blade dispersing as her Semblance could no longer sustain the blade. "Damn you!" She snapped, before smirking. "No matter. Cinder and the others are surely in place by now. I've bought them more than enough time." She said, smashing open a nearby crate and pulling out and handful of Dust crystals. "Take heart in knowing that when we're done, Remnant will be a stronger place. Without Beacon." She said, throwing the crystals to the ground between them.

"No!" Ryu shouted, rushing forward, but the crystals hit the ground and exploded, filling the warehouse with smoke. When the smoke cleared, Medusa was gone. "Damn! They're really trying to take down Beacon? I can't let that happen. I've gotta get back there and help the others. Ren... Nora..." Ryu said, using one of his lesser used Ninpo, spinning and vanishing in the wind, becoming a falcon and flying through a window of the warehouse, flying back to Beacon as fast as he could.

* * *

Bayonetta had split off from the group to get to the Colosseum as Dante and Kratos found Ironwood. "General!" Dante said.

The general sighed at this. "I'm sorry, but I told you that-" He started.

"This isn't about Yang! It's about the people who attacked the Fall Maiden." Kratos said.

"What?" Ironwood asked.

"Ozpin already let us in on the secret. We've been looking for any questionable activity and that group is always questionable. Our teammate followed their ambulance and sent us this video." Dante said, showing the general the video.

The general growled at this. "They've been under our noses, this whole time! Dammit!" He cursed. "I'm sorry for doubting your friend. But I'm afraid it's too late to undo her disqualification." He explained.

"Also, we cannot simply announce the guilty party." Ozpin explained, walking up to the group.

"Professor Ozpin." Kratos said.

"We will alert the guards to be on high alert in case the team returns, but we cannot publicly announce them to be guilty. After seeing Mercury's apparent injury, it would raise too many questions, or make it seem as though Beacon is trying to excuse Yang's 'attack' on the boy." Beacon's headmaster explained.

Dante sighed. "I don't like it, but you're right." He admitted.

"Then what do we do?" Kratos asked.

"We'll increase security and have them on the look-out for Cinder and her team." Ironwood explained.

"Good. And we're heading to the arena to keep an eye out for them there. Bayonetta's there already." Dante explained.

"Excellent. Whatever their plan is, it must be moving into its final stages. And we must prepare for it." Ozpin said.

"Right. Let's go, Kratos." Dante said, heading for the arena.

Kratos started after him, but then noticed Team JNPR and, in particular, a depressed Pyrrha. His sister had been acting strangely for some time now. And Kratos had to find out why. "I'll be along shortly." He said, following Team JNPR.

* * *

In the twilight, Pyrrha sat alone outside the dining hall, head bowed as the wind rose. She saw the air blow a single orange leaf onto the cobblestones at her feet and she looked at the fall colors with a face of total fright, remembering the sight of Amber in her comatose state and the choice weighing her down.

"Pyrrha." Kratos said, Pyrrha turning to see her brother walking up to her, before sitting next to her.

"Oh. H-hello, Kratos." She said.

"Something is bothering you. I can tell." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know you can tell me. I'm your brother. And I'm here for you. Always." He told her.

She sighed. "Kratos... Ozpin told me everything." She said.

"What?!" Kratos asked, shocked and worried. And starting to become furious at Ozpin.

"He told me about the maidens and how his group protects them and the world in secret. And that you were reborn on Remnant from another world." She explained.

Kratos growled at this. "Bastard! I told him to keep you out of this!" He snapped.

"So, it's true. And you knew." She said.

"Yes. About all of it. I am a revived warrior. All of Team SCRN is." He explained.

"Why wouldn't you tell us? You're my brother, but now it's like I don't even know you!" She said.

Kratos sighed at this. "I never wanted you to know." He explained.

"But why?" She asked.

Kratos sighed. "In my old life, I was born in a land called Sparta. It was a brutal, savage place. If you were born weak, sickly or disfigured, you were discarded." He explained.

"Discarded?" She asked.

"Thrown off a cliff." He elaborated, causing her to gasp and cover her mouth in shock and horror. "And from then on, as a boy, you were trained to become a warrior for the Spartan army. I joined the army and rose through the ranks, becoming a general." He said, turning away from her before continuing. "But I was cruel and vicious. I constantly lead invasions into countries and cities and slaughter countless innocents. Men, women and children. Then, in one battle, as I was near death, I called out to the god of war, Ares. He slew my foe and I became his slave... and even more of a monster than I already was. He sent me to kill even more than I already did, driving me into a crazed state of bloodshed... where I killed my own wife and daughter. And I was cursed, their ashes forever clinging to my skin, turning it deathly white. I became the Ghost of Sparta" He explained.

"Kratos..." Pyrrha said, shocked.

"I caused so much pain and suffering in my last life. I vowed in this life to protect everyone and everything I could to atone for my actions. And I hid those actions, that life, from you, from our parents, everyone, because if you knew, you'd never look at me the same. You wouldn't see me as your brother. Only the monster that I was... That I am." He said, looking down.

Pyrrha walked up and hugged her brother tightly. She then looked up at him. "You said it yourself, it was another life. The man who did that was the Ghost of Sparta. But you are the champion of Remnant. And my brother. And you've already done so much to make up for all you did in your past life. You've saved so many people. And in the future, I know you'll save even more." She said.

Kratos was shocked, but then hugged her once again. "Thank you, dear sister." He said, before pulling away. "But, what did Ozpin want with you?" He asked.

"He showed me the Fall Maiden. He wants me to take her place. But, to do that, they'd have to take her aura... her soul... And put it in me." She explained.

"Perhaps I'm not the only monster after all." He growled.

"I don't know what to do." She told him. "If I did this, I could save the world, but I may not be who I am anymore." She explained.

Kratos put a hand on her shoulder. "The person you are now is enough to save the world. It needs people like you, Pyrrha. Whatever power you may gain. It isn't worth it if you lose yourself to it as I did." He explained.

Pyrrha glanced up as she wondered what to say. "Do you believe in destiny?" She asked.

Kratos was slightly confused in this. "Well... in my last life, there were beings known as the fates, who literally weaved the destiny of all living things." He explained.

She shook her head at this. "When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life." She explained her opinion as the wind blew the two leaves away.

"I've had similar devotion, but it always led me down the wrong path.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I've already told you how I became Ares' slave. That came not only from the fear of death, but the desire for my men to win the war and continue on, so that I could spread Sparta's glory. What I considered my goal. My destiny. Then, Ares made me kill my family and my goal became to destroy Ares. And I did. And became the new God of War. But I was betrayed and killed by Zeus. I escaped the pit of Hades and tried to kill him, only to slay my sister, Athena. She told me all of Olympus would protect Zeus, so I made it my mission, my destiny to destroy Olympus. But, in doing so, I left the world in ruin. I was so caught up in achieving my goals I failed to notice the harm I did to everything around me." He told her.

Pyrrha was shocked at this. She had never even considered what harm this action may have to those around her. "Then, what should I do?" She asked.

"As I told you, do not lose yourself in your goals and think about the harm you could do to those around you." He explained. "But, whatever your decision, I will support you and stand beside you always." He told her.

She smiled and the two hugged one last time. "Thank you, brother." She said.

"We should head to the stadium. You may be next to fight." He said.

"Right." She agreed, the two heading off.

* * *

Back in the Colosseum, people were back in the stands cheering and ready for entertainment as Ruby noticed her dark-haired sister. "Bayonetta!" She said, descending down the steps to an open seat next to her.

"Hey, Ruby. I haven't seen Cinder or her team yet, but I'm still looking." Bayonetta told her.

"You think they're back already?" Ruby asked.

"From the sound of it, they're moving into the final stage of their operation. It must be happening here somewhere." Bayonetta explained.

Ruby nodded and looked around, before gasping as she almost immediately noticed Emerald from across the stadium. "It's Emerald! You were right!" She said.

As if sensing she was being watched, Emerald leaned forward to glare at Ruby, who suddenly got up with a worried expression, along with Bayonetta, who sported and angry, yet determined expression, the two running towards the exit tunnel. Checking to see if no one was around, they entered a door labeled with a yellow maintenance sign and found themselves inside of the Colosseum. "Kratos found out Emerald's Semblance. It's illusions. That's how she tricked Yang. She'll likely try the same thing with the next fight. So if we stop her, we stop their whole operation." Bayonetta explained.

"Okay." Ruby said seriously as she walked forward with determination as the announcers' voices were heard, muffled behind the brick walls.

"All right, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Oobleck announced.

The sound of the roulette was heard faintly, but what made the sisters stop in their tracks was the sight of another unexpected "friend" stepping out from a nearby tunnel, completely unharmed and definitely not going home.

"Mercury?" Ruby asked, squinting as if making sure.

"It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina from Atlas..." Port announced.

Ruby's attention went from the broadcast to the fraud "What are you doing?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter. We're putting a stop to it. It looks like Yang didn't hurt you too badly after all. I'll have to fix that." Bayonetta said, walking towards Mercury.

"And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!" Port added.

Ruby dipped her head in thought until she realized the awful truth. "No..." She said.

Bayonetta stopped at this and turned back to her sister. "Ruby, what's wrong?" She asked.

Mercury put a hand to his chin. "Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad." He explained.

Ruby glared at her new opponent, reaching back to grab Crescent Rose, only to remember she didn't have it on her. She glared back at Mercury and started towards him, but Bayonetta stopped her. "Ruby, you know you can't fight without Crescent Rose! What's gotten into you?!" She asked.

"I won't let you hurt Penny!" Ruby snapped at Mercury, trying to get to him past Bayonetta.

"Why will Penny be hurt? What's wrong?" Bayonetta asked, getting Ruby to face her. "Ruby, you can trust me. I'm your sister. You can tell me anything." She said.

Ruby looked unsure for a moment, but nodded, deciding Penny's well-being was more important than a secret. "Penny's... a robot. An artificial human, but she has a soul and aura, everything. So if Pyrrha uses her Semblance... She could destroy Penny." Ruby explained.

Bayonetta was shocked, but knew about Amber and the aura transfer machine and stuff, deciding it was possible to give aura to a robot. "I understand." She said, standing up and glaring at Mercury, who simply grinned maliciously and set himself up in a fighting pose. "I won't let them hurt your friend. Get ready. And when I make my move. Run." She explained.

"Okay." Ruby said determinedly.

Outside, the arena's center was lifting back into the air and an oblivious Penny was grinning wildly, with her fellow redhead Nora cheering excitedly from the stands, even getting Ren to let out a reluctant "Yaaay..." The screen faded to black.


	36. The End Begins

The clanks of turning gears found over the headmaster's office, with Professor Ozpin himself walking back to his desk and pouring himself a drink from his teapot as he watched the Vytal Festival Tournament's roulette system deciding the next match.

"Alright, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Oobleck announced over the broadcast.

"It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina, from Atlas! And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos, from Beacon!" Port declared.

Ozpin seated himself behind his desk and took a sip from his cup as he stared at the "randomized" fight to be.

* * *

Down in the arena of Amity Colosseum, Pyrrha was now confident and sure of herself once again, thanks to her brother's words, while Penny politely saluted her opponent.

"Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos! It's an honor to finally meet you!" Penny said with her hands on her hips in excitement.

Pyrrha looked at her hands as she clenched them in attempted determination, looking at Penny with a smile. "The honor is mine. Be sure not to hold back!" She said, taking up her stance.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Penny said excitedly.

In the stands, Genos and Nu waited for the fight to start, Nu excitedly and Genos intently. "You got this, Penny! Kick her fleshy butt!" Nu called.

"Pyrrha Nikos. A prodigy and four time champion of the Mistral Regionals. If anyone stands a chance to defeat Penny, it's her." Genos analyzed.

Even as he walked through the stands, looking for Cinder and the rest of her group, Kratos couldn't help but spare a glance and proud smile at his sister. "You can do it, Pyrrha. I believe in you." He said.

* * *

In the same structure behind closed doors, Ruby and Bayonetta were still facing down an up-and-standing Mercury, who's smugly smiling at the anger of the two girls.

"Whatever you're doing here, Mercury, it stops now." Bayonetta snapped.

"You already hurt Yang, I won't let you hurt Penny or Pyrrha!" Ruby shouted at him.

"Fighters, are you ready?" Oobleck asked over the announcement system, which drew Ruby's attention away.

Mercury smirked. He fired a round from his legs at Ruby, but Bayonetta raised her own leg and shot the projectile in mid-air, the two destroying each other, the shooters now glaring daggers at each other.

* * *

Penny beamed widely in anticipation, while Pyrrha had a look of steely determination, her weapons Miló and Akoúo̱ already in hand.

General Ironwood calmly sat to observe the fight, Nora and Ren cheered for their teammate while Jaune simply watched eagerly and Emerald leaned forward with a glare. "3, 2, 1..." Oobleck counted down, before he leaned forward. "BEGIN!" He announced.

Suddenly, Penny was surrounded by her floating swords, gesturing them around to her command before launching a volley of them at Pyrrha, who ran towards them and leapt though or deflected each aimed blade. The swords flew into the air until they turned around and came back to the fight. Pyrrha used her semblance to steer the swords into the ground, leaving Penny open as Pyrrha rushed in, bashing Penny in the gut with her shield and spinning with her spear extended, knocking Penny down and back with a wide sweep.

* * *

"Showtime." Mercury said, looking back at Ruby.

Ruby gulped and looked at Bayonetta. "Go. I'll handle Mercury. And this time he won't be up and walking again any time soon." She told her sister. Ruby nodded and used her semblance to bolt forward. Mercury attempted to intercept her with a kick, but Bayonetta used her own semblance, freezing time and leaving Mercury wide open for a flying kick to the chest from Bayonetta, sending him flying several feet down the hall, Ruby flying past him as she continued to make her way to the arena. "I'll get you some back-up, Ruby." Bayonetta said, sending a quick text to Dante and Kratos: Stop the fight. Penny is a robot. Pyrrha's semblance will kill her.

She just barely managed to send the text, before a pink wave of energy flew from behind her and shattered her scroll. She turned around just in time to block a diving kick from Juri, staggering her back a few feet as she looked back and forth at Juri and the now recovered Mercury, the former Umbran Witch now trapped between the two kicking fiends. The siblings smirked and nodded to each other, rushing at Bayonetta together.

* * *

Dante looked down at his scroll in shock, seeing Bayonetta's text. Penny was a robot? That does explain the girl's awkwardness at times. But never mind that! He had to stop this before anyone got hurt.

Kratos, meanwhile, looked at the message in horror. "Pyrrha... No." He said worriedly. If she took any life, especially an innocent one like Penny's, she'd never be the same and she'd definitely never be able to forgive herself. He turned back towards the arena from the very back row and rushed forward as fast as he could, desperate to save his sister from doing something she'd regret for the rest of her life. (If I can't save her, my own sister, I'm useless in this world!) He thought as he made his way towards the stage.

* * *

Pyrrha, now having returned the shield to her back, twirled the javelin to block each sword swipe of Penny's, dropping her weapon when she needed to somersault away after being hit by a slash, only to magnetically return it to her hand as Penny readied another wave of blades.

"My word! What a tremendous display by Miss Polendina!" Port announced.

Fully glowering, Pyrrha rushed forward and jumped on an incoming sword, swinging down on Penny, only to have the assault halted by a collection of blades, though she leapt away from the retaliatory slice as Penny backed away as well. She tried to defend against the multitude of swords with the length of her weapon, but was forced back regardless, prompting Pyrrha to roll the shield from her back onto her arm with her polarity.

"Whoo, yeah! Goooo Pyrrha!" Nora cheered with her arms wide alongside a fist-pumping Ren and worried Jaune.

Despite the cheers, Pyrrha wasn't doing well, looking down to see her Semblance's black energy bend the weapons in her hands unnaturally for a split second. Emerald narrowed her gaze further, continuing to concentrate on Pyrrha.

* * *

The two reached Bayonetta on opposite sides, throwing furious kicks at the former Umbran Witch, who struggled to stop the attacks coming from both sides. Juri eventually managed to land a kick to Bayonetta's stomach, doubling her over, allowing Mercury to land a round kick to Bayonetta's head, throwing her back, but in this moment, she managed to unleash a barrage of bullets from the guns on her feet, peppering the siblings with bullets. She then adjusted herself to land feet-first on the wall, launching herself towards the two of them and throwing her own round kick to knock them further down the hall, both of them now in front of her.

"Not so easy when you can't attack from both sides, is it?" She asked. The two of them rushed in once again, but this time, as they were both attacking from the front, Bayonetta had an easier time managing them. She managed to get a small kick on Mercury, causing him to stagger back, before blocking a chop from Juri and spinning her around, pushing her back into Mercury, tripping the two of them up, before she rushed in and knocked Juri back with a flying kick. Mercury turned and tried to attack, but Bayonetta brought her leg up and painfully hit the son of an assassin between the legs, causing him to cry out in pain. "You're legs are metal, but I guess your balls aren't." She said with a smirk, before knocking him into the air with a backflip kick, wrapping him up in Alruna and yanking him back down, slamming into the ground, hard.

"You bitch!" Juri shouted, activating her semblance and rushing in, throwing a barrage of punches and kicks Bayonetta dodged or blocked with about as much difficulty she was having stopping the attacks of both siblings. She managed to use Bat Within to avoid Juri's next attack and hit her with a powerful jump kick, sending her to the ground and skidding across it a few feet, before she jumped back up and threw a barrage of kicks, sending a devastating onslaught of pink energy waves towards Bayonetta. She managed to block a good number of them, but a decent number still managed to hit her, with the last one taking her to the ground. She then got up and glared back and forth at the siblings, who were both on their feet and on opposite sides of her once again.

Ruby, thankfully, was encountering no further resistance as she hurried ahead to try and stop the fight. She reached for her scroll, thinking of calling her teammates, but to tell them what? None of them would possibly be there in time to help her stop the fight and she didn't have enough time to explain the full situation to them, especially without sounding like some conspiracy nut, so she decided to simply focus on the task at hand and hurried ahead to stop the fight.

* * *

Pyrrha spun wildly as she deflected and dodged each sword, until she got close enough to Penny to deliver a few slashes with the spear, sending her flying back as Pyrrha batted aside the blades called to their wielder's aid. Penny slid to a stop and made a new series of motions, the weapons folding up until she was circled by several laser rifles, a few of which open fire on the approaching champion.

Pyrrha avoided the blasts and fought off the remaining swords with her xiphos until she slid into position to charged at Penny and knocked her back. Pyrrha straightened with a victorious grin that disappeared into dizziness, just as she saw Penny rocketing forward, weapons firing behind her like a jetpack so she can leap into the air, then came down as an energized meteor on her opponent. But as Penny shot herself down, Pyrrha extended her sword into its spear form once again and knocked Penny back with another wide swing.

This knocked both girls back, however taking the same amount of damage their aura levels now even in the orange. Rolling back to her feet, Pyrrha didn't expect a sword to knock her shield off, then another to do the same for her blade. She tried to get the latter back with her magnetism, but had to use the power to send a flying sword back at Penny's side. It disappeared behind Penny, only for her to grin and raised her arms as several appear above her, aimed to strike.

With Emerald still squinting down on the arena, the sharp sound of Emerald's Semblance was heard as Penny's eight swords double, then triple, multiplying into an unreal thicket of blades. At the sight of this, Pyrrha unsteadily stepped back, both in reality where the eight swords were ready to go forth and in the hallucinated world, where the cloud of weapons thickened to even block the crowds around her.

Kratos made it to the front row and grabbed the railing, calling to his sister. "Pyrrha! Whatever you're seeing, it is wrong!? You must steel your mind, sister! You are being tricked!" He told her. However, the words didn't seem to reach her. From this angle, he could see into Pyrrha's eyes and, while he could clearly see Penny's mere 8 swords, the reflection in Pyrrha's eyes showed a massive swarm of blades, big enough to block out everything behind her. Kratos knew Pyrrha's only option if the illusion were truly the case, would be to create a massive magnetic shockwave and during Penny's fights, Kratos' battle hardened eyes noticed the wires that were attaching Penny's swords to her. If Pyrrha launched a shockwaves, those wires would catch Penny... and tear her apart.

"No! I will not allow this!" Kratos snapped, jumping over the guard railing and rushing towards the stage. Penny sent her swords forwards towards Pyrrha, but before the Mistral champion could use her magnetic shockwave, Kratos leapt onto the stage and flung his swords forward, severing the strings of Penny's swords and sending them clattering harmlessly to the ground.

"What?!" Penny asked, looking to the side.

"Kratos?!" Pyrrha asked, surprised.

Ruby reached the arena and let out a sigh of relief as she saw that Penny, as well as everyone else, was safe.

On a rooftop in Vale, Cinder and Azula watched the match and were shocked to see Kratos interfere. "NO!" Cinder screamed furiously. "Dammit! They ruined our plans! It's over! Salem will be furious and I can't get the rest of my powers!" She snapped.

"Wait! We can still make this work. Look." Azula told her, forcing her to look back at the Scroll.

Kratos opened his mouth to speak and explain himself, but before he could, Genos, who had leapt over the guard rails shortly after Kratos, reached the arena and launched himself at the former God of War, who raised his swords to block the oncoming axe kick. "First, a broken leg and now outright interference? Tell me, are all Beacon students so disgraceful?!" He demanded, spinning and hitting Kratos in the head with a round kick.

Kratos slid back and once again tried to explain himself, but another set of flying swords slammed into his side, before returning to Nu and all swinging together and sending Kratos skidding across the arena floor. "Hey, dude! This is the singles match and it's my little sister's time to shine. Back off or be carried off, in a body bag!" Nu warned.

Meanwhile, the crowd was voicing their displeasure at these events. "What the hell, Beacon?!" A man in the stands demanded.

"Yeah, what are you teaching these kids?!" A woman demanded.

"Hey, Atlas, chill out! Take him out of the ring, don't kill him!" A faunus girl shouted.

"What do you expect from Atlas? They're warmongers!" Another man snapped.

Off in the distance, Grimm looked towards Vale and rushed towards the city en masse.

From the rooftop, Cinder's smirk returned. "You're right. We can still use this." She said.

"You know what to do." Azula said.

Back in the arena, Port and Oobleck were trying to restore order. "Broadcast, what are you doing? Kill the feed!" Oobleck ordered, putting a hand up to his ear.

"Something's wrong! We don't have control of the cameras! We can't even stop the broadcast!" The Broadcast Op explained over the earpiece.

"What!? How is that possible!?" Oobleck demanded.

In answer, the background behind the two teachers changed to the video feed of the sight before them, tinted an ominous bright red with a black queen chess piece hovering over the scene. They turned back to the arena as a familiar voice rang out throughout the Colosseum and the rest of the world watching these events.

"What have we here? I didn't think Beacon could sink lower after already injuring a defenseless student who was already beaten, but yet here we are. And Atlas seems to be no better, ready to attack at the drop of a hat, it seems like, leaving no room for answers or explanation. I was under the assumption Huntsmen and Huntresses were supposed to be heroes, not tyrants." Azula said, this one speech already placing the seeds of doubt into people.

"This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men." Cinder spewed her poisonous speech. "Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both." She criticized.

Ironwood, realizing who she was talking about, grimaced and rose from his seat, marching up the steps.

Ryu finally arrived at the Colosseum, shifting back into his human form and about to head to the arena, only to see the message playing. "Damn! I was too late! Curse you, Cinder!" He snapped.

"They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? Interference in this sanctioned, historical event? Maybe Beacon isn't as honorable and pristine as they'd like you to believe. Or perhaps they know what they're really dealing with." Cinder explained, the blueprints of Penny, Nu and Genos popping up on the screen. "One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent teenagers? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference." Cinder questioned.

Pyrrha held a hand to her mouth in shock as she stared at the people in front of her she thought were fellow students, but were really androids, two of which had viciously attacked her brother. Back in the fairgrounds, a gaping Weiss Schnee and glaring Blake Belladonna watched the hacked screen of the Shopkeep's stall.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither." Cinder condemned Ozpin and our heroes.

Dante growled from where he was as he glared daggers into the screen he was looking at. "You've witnessed anger and confusion that YOU caused!" He snapped.

The two teammates shared a look before the last member of RWBY, Yang, was seen hunching over her windowsill listening to the speech before she straightened and turned as Zwei barked behind her.

"Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves." Cinder continued her speech against the Kingdom's leaders.

Ozpin watched the screen intently, cane at his side and Atlesian Airships hovering beyond his window. Amid the silence over the Colosseum as they absorbed the revolutionary words, no one notices Emerald exited the stadium.

With Bayonetta, Mercury and Juri exited their fighting stances with a smirk, before running in opposite directions, Bayonetta looking back and forth, trying to decide who to attack, before tiredly dropping to one knee.

"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark." Cinder continued to criticize as Emerald used the distraction to exit the arena.

Two blue Atlas Soldiers watched the message on their Scroll, not noticing the wave of Grimm coming out of the mist shrouded treeline until they turned and open fire the best they could, with Cinder's voice still stirring up trouble from her position with a malevolent smile.

"So I ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?" She finished her haunting speech.

In the Colosseum, the screens cut from red and black to complete static.

"The feeds are all jammed! We can't get a message out!" Oobleck told Port.

"Will somebody tell me what in the world is happening!?" Port demanded to the people working behind the scenes.

The question was answered with the sound of a wailing alarm throughout the structure, with humans and Faunus and even a Henchman holding a tub of popcorn looking up in alarm at the orange flashing screens reading "CAUTION".

"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner." The Warning Announcer... well, warned.

The crowds began to flee, wild and screaming, through the exit tunnels, while Ironwood entered the announcers' box and grabbed the microphone from between Port and Oobleck. "Ladies and gentlemen, please. There is no need for panic." He tried to calm the people, but to no avail.

With that said, a Giant Nevermore appeared atop the arena's domed force field, giving a series of deafening screeches as it clawed and pecked at the defense with its beak.

"Well, they just found their reason." Dante said, glaring up at the beast.

"A Nevermore!?" Sun said in disbelief, standing up in alarm along with Coco Adel.

"How did it get past the Kingdom's defenses!?" Coco asked, lowering her sunglasses.

"It wasn't alone." Ren explained, appearing beside them.

In the headmaster's office, Ozpin was gripping his cane tight, watching the city come under attack with a horrified expression.

"Oz!" Qrow shouted, running in with Glynda.

"Get to the city!" Ozpin ordered, turning to them.

"But-" Qrow started.

"NOW!" Ozpin ordered again resolutely.

Qrow and Glynda exchanged a look before going back the way they came. Meanwhile, Mountain Glenn was almost silent, as every monster lurking there from Beowolves to Boarbatusks, Ursai and Nevermores and even lumbering Goliaths with wide red eyes rushed forward.

Ironwood was back at the Colosseum watching the Nevermore attack the shields until he answered his scroll. "Ozpin, the girls and that boy... I-I can explain!" He stammered

"You brought your army to my Kingdom, James." Ozpin told him gravely. There was a beat, then... "Use it." He ordered angrily.

Ironwood's worry turned to determination. His fleet of ships were being attacked by even more giant Nevermores though to minimal effect, Soldiers scrambling to enter commands inside the bridge around their commanding officer.

"Dammit!" An Atlas Ship Captain cursed. "This is Blue Four! Blues Two and Three, fall into defensive position!" He spoke into his Scroll as he turned to the screen of data.

"Roger! Blue Three, in position!" Blue Three confirmed over the Scroll.

"Blue Two, what's your status?" The Atlas Ship Captain asked. No response. "Blue Two, come in! Someone answer me, dammit!" He cursed once again.

He didn't know that the bridge of the last ship was wrecked, computers sparking and men down as a pair of white and maroon sneakers, almost hidden by a yellow cape with black markings walked through the destruction. "You know, I used to be a military man, myself." Terumi said with a smile as he walked up to the control panel, slamming his hands down on it. "And I hated it! So I'm really gonna enjoy this!" He shouted, taking control of the ship.

Cut to outside the Airships, where the furthest craft suddenly turned towards its allies and fired several bright red lasers at the engine of the one closest to it. The aircraft was barely able to send out "We're hit! What's going-" before the flaming ship crashed into another in a series of explosions and sent both of them tumbling toward the waters below.

Finally, at Beacon's cliffside landing platforms, three Bullheads arrived, the middle one opening its hatch to reveal four members of the White Fang and their leader. "Bring them to their knees!" Adam ordered.

Another Bullhead opened its door, this time with several creatures of Grimm inside. A growling Ursa jumped from it and landed on Academy grounds. The foreboding scene darkened as the Ursa's roar echoed, leaving only the burning red eyes of the monster, until they too disappeared.


	37. Saving Beacon

The fairgrounds were in chaos as civilians ran away from the hordes of Grimm. Atlesian Knight-200s were seen firing at the dark creatures and a vendor hid behind his booth when a group of Ursai run past. Blake and Weiss were then shown watching in horror of everything going on around them. Civilians continued to flee as Grimm continued to run amok and a dead Creep on the ground started to dissipate.

"I don't believe this..." Weiss said as Blake pulled out her Scroll.

"Yang, are you okay?" Blake asked the blonde through the device.

Yang, meanwhile, was running in the hallways of the dorms with Zwei. "I'm fine. Is Bayonetta with you? She's not answering her Scroll and I already checked with Ruby. She's not with her, either." She responded to Blake through her Scroll.

"No, she isn't." Blake said. At those words, Yang stopped in her tracks with a worried expression on her face. "Yang, I'm sure she's fine. She's part of team SCRN and your twin sister. She can take care of herself." She reassured her partner.

Yang closed her eyes and curled her fist into a ball. "Right." She said hesitantly, before she continued forward with Zwei and turned the next corner of the hallways.

"This can't be happening." Weiss said. "The whole school's in danger. All of our friends. Ruby... Dante..." Weiss said, worried about her crush/leader and her brother.

"I'm headed to the docks near the courtyard. The White Fang are releasing Grimm into the school!" Yang explained.

"The White Fang is here!?" Blake asked, alarmed. She received no answer, however, as through her Scroll, Blake heard the sounds of Grimm growling and her expression grew ever more worried. "Yang!" She cried out fearfully.

"Ugh! Gotta go! Be careful!" Yang told them before the call ended.

"Blake, what are we going to do?" Weiss asked worriedly.

"We're going to the docks, and we're doing our job." Blake said, pensively as she used her Scroll to call upon her rocket locker, which landed behind her and opened up to reveal Gambol Shroud. Weiss gave one last look at Blake before nodding in agreement.

* * *

Back at Amity Colosseum, the Nevermore screeched as it continued to weaken the force field that was keeping it from getting in.

"Warning: Safety Barriers Failing." The warning announcer, you guessed it, warned again.

As civilians ran past her in a panic, made her way to the arena. In said arena, Pyrrha, Penny, Kratos, Genos and Nu all glared upward at the Nevermore as the beast circled around the Colosseum. "PENNY!" Ruby cried, leaping into the robot girl's arms, crying as she nuzzled into her chest. "I was so worried. The people on those speakers. They were trying to use Pyrrha to kill you!" She said.

Penny was shocked at this, but hugged her friend. "Do not worry, Ruby! I'm fine! Though, sadly, without my weapons attached to me, I'm not very combat ready anymore." Penny said, looking down at her fallen swords.

Ruby hurried over, picking up two of the swords and hurrying back to Penny, handing them to her. "You should still be fine with two. Besides, you can probably crush them yourself." Ruby assured her.

"And I will be here beside you at all times, Penny." Genos added.

"Yeah! We got your back, sis!" Nu agreed.

Penny looked at all of them, smiling happily. "Thank you. All of you." She said.

However, the touching moment was interrupted by another ear-piercing screech from the Nevermore.

"PYRRHA! Kratos, Ruby, that thing's going to break in! You've gotta move!" Jaune screamed from the stands with the remaining members of Team JNPR.

"Nothing can stop it from getting in now. The only thing we can do is ensure it never leaves alive." Kratos said.

"Right! Get ready, everyone!" Pyrrha agreed, the warriors in the arena readying themselves to fight the beast.

Jaune, Ren, and Nora looked up and saw the force field flash as the Nevermore rose back up before diving back in. Unable to sit there and watch his mentor and girlfriend (kinda, maybe, sorta) stand there vulnerably, Jaune attempted to climb over the railing and into the arena.

"Jaune!" Nora said worriedly.

However, before he could jump into the arena, he felt someone grab him by his hood and pull him back. "Relax, dear, I think they've got this." Bayonetta assured him as she returned him to his seat.

Suddenly, the Nevermore completely broke through the holographic barrier and the force of it landing on the arena floor sent everyone skidding back a few feet, but they managed to brace themselves from the worst of it. The Nevermore screeched and lunged towards Pyrrha. The redheaded girl planned to deflect the monster and stab one of it's eyes, but suddenly, the Nevermore was knocked back by a red, twirling blur of roses, with the cause of the blur gripping one of Penny's swords and stabbing into the Nevermore, before jumping back down in front of Pyrrha.

"Ruby?" Pyrrha said in surprise.

"Leave her alone!" Ruby roared with an angered, determined expression on her face, pointing Penny's sword toward the Nevermore.

The Nevermore rose up and circled around the arena before lunging back down. Ruby held Penny's sword defensively. Suddenly, the Nevermore's eyes were taken out by Nu's swords, causing the giant demonic bird to trash around in the air in a panic, before Pyrrha used her magnetism to lift Penny's remaining swords and plunge them down deep into the Nevermore, keeping it pinned, allowing Penny to rush in and get two good slashes to either side of its beak, before Genos rocketed forward and came down on the Grimm's head with an axe kick, knocking it unconscious and allowing Kratos to jump on its back and wrap his swords around its neck and stab into it, before yanking back on the chains, pulling the blades through the beast's neck and decapitating it.

Suddenly, more Nevermore, nowhere near as big as the one that was just defeated, but still twice the size of most the students, poured in and tried to attack our heroes, but they were all slammed out of the air and into the ground by dozens of rocket lockers.

The lockers then opened up, revealing the weapons of various students, including Crocea Mors, StormFlower, Magnhild, and Yatsuhashi's large sword. The respective owner of the sword pulled it out from his locker and was shown alongside Scarlet gripping his cutlass and flintlock pistol, Sage with his sword and Neptune with his gun in hand. The camera continued to pan over showing Sun with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in its staff form, Ren and Nora carrying their respective weapons and the remaining members of Team CFVY, the members of Team ABRN, as well as Flynt Coal and Neon Katt of Team FNKI, all gripping their respective weapons.

Pyrrha walked up to Penny and held her hand out. "Penny, I'm sorry our battle nearly cost you your life, but from here out, I plan to make up for it." She said.

Penny smiled and shook Pyrrha's hand. "Think nothing of it, Pyrrha Nikos! I know you had no intention of truly harming me." She said.

"Exactly. It wasn't your fault. Either of yours." Ruby said.

"She's right." Jaune said, walking over to Pyrrha and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Whoever was on that microphone... they're the ones that did this. And we have to make sure they don't take anyone else." He said.

"It was Cinder. And well said, Jaune. No one else will be lost this day." He said, though looked at Jaune's hand on Pyrrha's shoulder and growled. "Though, you may lose your hand if you don't remove it from my sister's shoulder!" He warned, Jaune quickly moving his hand away, laughing nervously.

"Kratos..." Pyrrha said, annoyed and slightly embarrassed at her brothers overprotective behavior. However, she then looked back between him and Jaune, the three of them exchanging determined expressions. They then looked over to Ruby, who smiled at the impressive ensemble of students.

A gunshot then rang out, another flying Grimm dropping to the arena floor and dissipating, everyone looking to the Grimm, then to the source of the gunshot, Bayonetta. "I hate to spoil such a touching moment, but it seems as though we have company." She said, pointing upwards, everyone following to where she pointed and noticed hippogriff-like Grimm land on top of the Colosseum. They then screeched and flew towards the group of students.

"Griffons." Ren called the Grimm species out by their formal name.

"Anybody got a plan of attack?" Neptune asked.

"I have a plan. Attack." Kratos said, raising his blades.

Pyrrha sighed and rolled her eyes at her brother with a slight smile. "Yes, Kratos, we all loved the Revengers, but now's not the time for movie references and simply 'attack' isn't a plan." She said.

Ruby quickly pulled out her own Scroll and used it to summon her locker, which opened up revealing Crescent Rose inside. However, Ruby was stopped when a Griffon landed on her locker and roared at her before being decapitated by Rebellion, which flew back to Dante's hand. "Pesky things, aren't they. Don't want to mess with these things without a weapon, Ruby." He told her as he walked up to the group.

"Perfect timing as always." Bayonetta said, kissing his cheek.

"Gross!" Ruby said, flinching away from her sister kissing Weiss' brother. "Still, he's right about facing them without a weapon." She said, collecting Crescent Rose from her locker.

Another Griffon swooped down in an attempt to attack Jaune, but was scared away by a fireball. Everyone looked to see Port holding his blunderbuss-axe in hand, with Oobleck holding his weapon in its club form. "Students! I think it would be best for you to leave." He instructed.

"Are you mad?! This arena alone is nearly overrun with Grimm, with no telling how the rest of the stadium is fairing. You can't handle this on your own!" Kratos said.

"Never forget, Mr. Nikos, we are still Professional Huntsmen!" Port reminded him.

"But we did a-" Ruby started, but was interrupted by Oobleck.

"Miss Rose! This day will surely go down in Remnant's history. I'd prefer it if my students could live to tell about it." The fast speaking Huntsmen told her.

Ruby nodded at the Doctor's words before grabbing Crescent Rose and twirling it into it's scythe form. "Let's go!" She ordered.

As all the students left, Ruby was distracted by the flash of Velvet's camera. She stopped to look at the photograph she took but was interrupted when her leader called out to her. "Velvet!" Coco yelled.

The three present members of Team SCRN were the last to leave, each one giving a nod of respect to their teachers as they did so. "Fight well." Kratos said.

"You really are heroes and Huntsmen." Bayonetta said.

"Try not to die. I wouldn't want to learn history or Grimm studies from anyone else." Dante said finally as the three followed the others out.

With the students cleared of the arena, Port and Oobleck stood back-to-back with their weapons in hand as the Griffons circled around them

"One final match, Barty! Place your bets!" Port laughed maniacally.

* * *

Civilians continued to run and flee in panic as they reached the docking bays of the Colosseum. Atlas Soldiers were seen directing civilians to calmly step into the Air Buses. A female student was seen breaking down in tears as another person tried to comfort her. Suddenly, White Fang Bullheads were seen dropping off more Grimm at the docking bay. Two Atlesian Knights escorting General Ironwood effortlessly gunned down an Ursa. As they proceeded forward, the Knights were suddenly brutally ripped apart by a much larger, armored Beowolf variant. The Beowolf then noticed Ironwood as the General started to run towards it, gradually picking up speed as he neared the charging Beowolf.

He screamed a loud battle cry as he pulled out his revolver from his coat. Ironwood ducked and slid under the Beowolf's swipe and shot at it a couple times. The Beowolf then charged at Ironwood again, who fired his revolver a few more times before having to duck under another swipe. The Beowolf attempted to swipe at him again with its left claw, but Ironwood effortlessly stopped it with his own right hand. The General then fired at the Beowolf's feet, the explosion causing it to get airborne and, still gripping it's claw, Ironwood proceeded to swing it back down to the ground with his own brute strength. Ironwood then picked up the Beowolf, aimed the revolver at its skull and shot it, causing black blood to splatter from it. Ironwood then watched the body of the Beowolf dissipated before leaving. The students were then shown exiting the arena entrance and gathered together in front of Ironwood.

"What's going on!?" Ruby asked.

"Grimm are crawling all over the city. The White Fang's invaded Beacon, and to make matters worse, some... vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm..." Ironwood explained, but was interrupted by a sneak attack from a Creep, which was swiftly dealt with from a bullet to its head. "...going to take it back." He finished.

As Ironwood turned for his ship, he was stopped when asked a question. "What should we do?" Jaune asked.

Ironwood turned and faced the students. "You have two choices. Defend your Kingdom and your school... or save yourselves." He explained, the students exchanging looks with each other. "No one will fault you if you leave." He assured them. Ironwood then proceeded to climb up on the dropship in front of him. "Let's move out!" He addressed the crowd.

As Ironwood left, the students looked at each other and murmured before a certain monkey Faunus spoke up. "I mean... come on!" Sun exclaimed.

"If we left the people here... And the people at Beacon, we could never call ourselves Huntsmen and Huntresses." Kratos said.

"So, then, what are we waiting for? This party's getting crazy and we're not there to make it crazier!" Dante said.

"We can take a ship to Beacon!" Jaune said.

* * *

While the students headed to the nearest airship, Terumi was seen giddily fidgeting around with the controls of the Atlesian Airship, callsign "Blue-2", like a child in a candy store.

"Hmm... let's see, what does... this button do?" He wondered, pressing the button. After the button was pressed, a noise was heard. "Just a beep and a little rumble!? Boring!? Where's the explosions!?" He snapped, before looking back at the controls. "How about ... this one?" He asked with the press of a button and the airship suddenly emptied its cargo of Atlesian Knights, all on standby, as they fell to the ground with a massive thud. "Oh, come on! Two for two doing nothing!" He snapped.

"Not working so good for you?" Juri asked as she walked up behind him.

"How'd you get on here?!" He growled as she simply shrugged. Terumi then smirked evilly. "Good thing I brought this!" He said, holding up a Scroll with the Black Queen insignia, before he inserted it in the console. "Oh, here comes the fun part! All the chaos! And all that wonderful despair!" He said.

As a squadron of Knights shot down Grimm, they suddenly stopped as their visors and LED's turn a dark crimson and they turned around, pointing their guns at Glynda and Qrow as they continued to fight the Grimm, the realization shocking them as they saw the Knights now turned against two of their now former masters.

"What!?" Glynda asked, shocked.

On the courtyards of Beacon, Weiss and Blake were nearly caught off-guard by the local Knights also succumbing to the virus and turning towards them. "Look out!" Blake yelled, tackling Weiss to the ground, the two avoiding the onslaught of bullets, but the Knights surrounded them, preparing to fire again, before they were all decapitated by a massive shuriken flying like a boomerang and decapitating all but one of the knights, before flying back to Ryu, who caught the Windmill Shuriken.

The last remaining Knight turned to attack Ryu, but Blake shot it in the back of the head. "Ryu! What's going on?!" Weiss asked.

"Cinder's group. They're carrying out their mission. And it looks like that mission is the fall of Beacon. And part of it involves taking over the Atlesian Knights." He explained.

Meanwhile, the oblivious general, still en route to the Airship, got a nasty surprise when the Knights on his dropship suddenly activated and turned on him.

"No!" Ironwood shouted as he reached out, the dropship suddenly losing altitude, plummeting from the ground as two flashes could be seen from the cockpit. The students watched in horror as they saw dropship fall from the sky. Ruby decided to run to the bay doors of their Air Bus.

"Ruby, wait!" Bayonetta shouted, hurrying after her sister.

"Bayonetta!" Dante said, about to go after her, but Kratos stopped him.

"No, Dante! The battle here is over, but there is still one to fight at Beacon! And we'll need as many people as we can get for that. Your sister is there. She'll need you." He reminded him.

"Dammit!" Dante snapped.

Jaune put a consoling hand on Dante's shoulder. "Don't worry, Dante. Those two can handle anything together." He reassured him.

"Yeah, you're right." He said, looking back at the sisters.

Ruby then jumped off the Air Bus as it barely took off, using her Semblance of speed to safely land on the runway after free-falling in the sky, Bayonetta right beside her as a bird. As she ran to the stadium, she foundd it nearly empty and full of brown dirt, where she saw a locker. She punched in the code and latched on with Crescent Rose as Bayonetta landed on her shoulder, still in bird form. The locker immediately took to the skies, landing on top Terumi's stolen airship with a thud.

"Oh, come on! I was just starting to have fun!" Terumi snapped, going to investigate the noise.

* * *

Back at Beacon, the hacked Knights continue to fire, but they were cut up by flurry of slashes. Weiss was seen taking down a few knights using a combination of Myrtenaster's strikes as well as her using her Glyph Semblance, while Blake fought off a group of White Fang soldiers, before using her Semblance to dodge a dual sword-wielding soldier before getting overwhelmed by more White Fang members, but they were all suddenly knocked back by Weiss. Afterwards, Weiss and Blake stand back-to-back as a group of beowulves surrounded them, but they were each hit in the chest by a shuriken, which then exploded and blew off their upper bodies before Ryu landed in front of the girls.

They prepared to move on, but noticed a group of human Atlas Soldiers fighting off an Atlesian Paladin, which had also been affected by the virus and turned rogue. The Paladin easily beat down the soldiers.

"I have to stop it!" Ryu said, rushing for the Paladin

"Come on!" Weiss said, but before she and Blake could assist Ryu the soldiers, they noticed a Bullhead about to crash land. An armored Beowolf was seen jumping out of it before it could crash with the aircraft. The Beowolf landed on the ground and started to chase after fleeing civilians. Weiss and Blake exchanged one last look with each other before parting ways. "Be safe." Weiss told her.

As the two parted ways, Blake was seen running just outside the dining hall. However, she stopped when the Beowolf from earlier latched onto the side of the building above her. Her attention was then drawn away from the Beowolf when she heard a wounded scream inside the burning interior of the dining hall. She then gave a look of horror when she saw a familiar figure throwing an Atlas soldier. "No... Adam?" She said, horrified.

"Hello, my darling." Adam said, grinning creepily.

* * *

All across Beacon Academy, various students battled the many Creatures of Grimm: Jaune was seen slashing at an Ursa, while Neon roller-bladed away from a Boarbatusk. Coco opened fire on a Griffon, while Arslan was seen fighting an Ursa Major before it ran off to attack Nora, who fired at it with her grenade launcher. Ren was seen firing his guns at a retreating Beowolf before it dropped dead. Kratos was seen surrounded by a circle of creeps, before spinning with his blades out, decapitating them all. Lastly, Dante was seen fighting beowulves that came at him from all sides, so he blasted them all away by blasting his shotgun while swinging it like nunchaku.

The alpha Beowulf rushed at him from behind and lunged towards him, but it was shot in the head and killed, Dante looking back at it, before looking to where the bullet came from to see a boy in black pants and shoes with an open black trench coat and a red silk shirt underneath with red eyes and silver hair, holding a black and dark purple revolver. The boy then gave Dante a bit of a salute, before taking off after a Creep the size of an Ursa. "Huh. I can't place him, but I feel like I've seen that guy before." Dante said. (Shameless OC cameo!)

The camera then dynamically zoomed under an archway before panning up a building, slowing down until it revealed Cinder, Azula Emerald, Mercury standing on the rooftop, the latter filming the chaos with his Scroll.

"Beautiful." Cinder said.

"I can't just sit around anymore. I've gotta get in on this!" Azula said maniacally.

"Have fun." Cinder said before Azula launched herself away with fire from her feet.

"It's almost sad." Emerald said with a sorrowful expression on her face.

"It's horrendous. Focus on the Atlesian Knights." Cinder instructed Mercury.

"Oh, I'm getting all of it." Mercury confirmed.

"Good. Continue the broadcast until the end." Cinder instructed once more. Suddenly, a tremor rocked the three of them. "And do not miss what happens next." She added before she walked off as Mercury continued filming with an evil grin on his face, while Emerald's expression only grew more worrisome.

Inside his office, Ozpin watched the battle on three video feeds, one showing some buildings, the middle showing a group of Atlas soldiers struggling a against a Deathstalker on Beacon's main avenue and the last showing civilians stuck on a rooftop waving for help, while an Ursa slowly crawled up the side of the building, but thankfully it was killed by the silver-haired boy in the black trench coat... who somehow miraculously got there from Beacon, don't ask. Ozpin then started to walk away from his desk, grabbing his cane in the process, before proceeding to the elevator. However, he was stopped in his tracks when a sudden tremor shook the ground.

Back in the city, Glynda and Qrow continued fighting, before they too were shaken by another tremor. Qrow stabbed his sword into the ground to keep himself standing. "No..." Goodwitch said in horror.

Another tremor shook Jaune as he battled an Ursa Major, with Sage and Scarlet piggyback riding on it with worried expressions on their faces.

Elsewhere, a mountain started to violently shake and crumble, as various body parts of a monstrous-looking Grimm were revealed, before the mountain completely broke apart, releasing a titanic Wyvern. The Wyvern roared and flew over the abandoned Mountain Glenn, heading towards Beacon. As it flew, it exuded a black, tar-like substance which dropped to the ground in the city of Vale and spawned various Grimm.

Ozpin approached the window of his office, noticing the Wyvern getting closer. The massive Grimm excreted more of the black substance, which dropped to the ground and spawned more Grimm near the base of the CCT. As the Grimm charged forward, the camera panned across the members of Team SSSN and Team JNPR in a lineup as they prepared to battle the incoming enemies, with Jaune and Pyrrha exchanging a smile with each other. Before they could go forward, Pyrrha noticed Ozpin standing the entrance of the tower, while Team SSSN ran off to fight off their enemies. Pyrrha then walked towards her headmaster without saying a word to her teammates, much to their confusion.

"Where's she going?" Nora asked.

"I'll go find out. You two stay here and keep fighting." Jaune instructed.

As he went to follow Pyrrha, the camera then zoomed in to a building in the background, with a familiar figure standing on the rooftop with her weapons in hand. A close up of Cinder's eyes were seen glowing ominously.


	38. The True Mark of Heroes

The Wyvern flew past the hijacked Atlesian Airship, as Ruby and Bayonetta looks on, with the surrounding Griffons roaming the skies. A pair of Griffons landed on the airship, but Ruby easily cut the first one down with Crescent Rose, while Bayonetta stabbed the second one in the neck with one of Rakshasa and using the other one in shotgun form to repeatedly blast the Griffon in the chest, killing it causing them to disintegrate into black particles.

But suddenly, the two of them heard the doors to the ship open and watched as Terumi stepped out, glaring at the two of them. "Oh, you can not be serious! A guy just can't have any fun around here!" Terumi snapped as he now faced the two sisters.

"You." Bayonetta said.

"You know him?" Ruby asked.

"Not personally, but he fought Dante and Ryu at the docks the night we stopped the dust robbery at docks." Bayonetta explained.

"Yeah! And you bitches cost us Torchwick! He was supposed to be the one to take over the ship here once his girlfriend broke him out, but she broke him out early and they went AWOL! Who knows what they're doing now." Terumi snapped.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the city of Vale, Torchwick and Neo had robbed a bank and were loading up Celty's getaway car as the older mute fended off the Grimm. After slicing an Ursa in half, Celty clenched her fist and glared back at Neo, quickly typing up a message on her Scroll. [NEO! You said you two were done with crime!] Her angry message read.

Neo shrugged, pulling out her own Scroll and typing up a message. [I said we'd take it easy for a while.] Her message read as Neo tilted her head to the side and stuck her tongue out a bit.

"Hey, ladies! Maybe a little less arguing, a little more looting!" Roman reminded them, putting a few more bags of Lien in the car.

Celty facepalmed at this. [I swear, you do NOT deserve my sister.] She typed and showed her message, Neo pouting and Torchwick growling.

"Oh, come on! No need to lose your head over this!" Roman snapped before the elder mute knocked him out with the back end of her scythe, throwing him into the back with the Lien and Neo into the passengers seat, before Celty herself got in the car and sped off.

But what they didn't know was that they were being watched from a nearby rooftop by Izaya as he observed the chaos all around the city. "My, my. What a show, indeed. They certainly kept their promise..." He said with a smirk, flinging a knife into a Beowulf's head as it tried to climb the building and reach him.

* * *

Back on the ship, the sisters and Terumi were alerted when Juri stepped out of the ship as well. "But luckily we still made it work. And it's gonna keep working, no matter what you heroes do." She taunted.

"Why don't we test that theory?" Bayonetta said, her and Ruby drawing their weapons as Terumi and Juri readied themselves, Terumi activating his aura-draining barrier and Juri's eye flashing.

* * *

Right outside of Beacon's dining hall, Blake backed away from the shattered window, staring in horror at her old partner.

"Running away again? Is that what you've become, Blake? A coward?" Adam demanded.

"Why are you doing this?" Blake asked.

"You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution!" He ranted, before he drew his sword and prepared to stab an Atlas student in the chest. "Consider this... a spark." He said.

Blake charged into the dining hall, drawing her sword in a flash. Her blade clashed with his as she pushed him away from the student and they stood with their blades locked. "I'm... not... running." She said determinedly.

"You... will." Adam said ominously. He kicked her away, knocking her onto the floor. A nearby Creep ran toward her, only to be shot by Adam. "But not before you suffer for your betrayal." He promised as he smiled and began walking toward her.

* * *

Back outside the Beacon grounds, Velvet groaned as she struggled to get up, only to get knocked back down when Coco bumped into her after getting knocked away from a Paladin off-screen. The camera panned with Neon and Reese as they dodged and weaved between groups of students fighting against the infected Atlesian Knights and Paladins. Yatsuhashi was seen fighting a Griffon while Flynt used his trumpet to hold back a Paladin. Ryu was surrounded by knights, but used the Art of Ice Storm Ninpo to launch them into the air, getting ripped apart by freezing winds and dozens of razor-sharp ice chunks.

Penny rushed through a crowd of Knights, swinging her swords back and forth, cleaving them in twain. Genos was incinerating a Paladin. Dante played an amazing rift of Nevan, sending bolts of electricity shooting out and shot circuiting more Knights. Kratos flung his spear through a line of Knights. Nu launched her swords into a Paladin's head, pulling them back and using them to cut the Paladin's feet out from under it. Weiss then arrived on the battlefield, but got knocked back another Paladin.

"Weiss!" Neptune called, reaching his hand out.

"Sis!" Dante shouted, running to her side. "Come on, you gotta get up. We need you out here." He said, slowly getting her back to her feet.

Yatsuhashi tried to hold back a Paladin's fist with his sword, but he got knocked back. The Paladin then turned to and started approaching a distracted Lie Ren.

"Look out!" Nora cried as she pushed Ren out of the way of the Paladin's incoming strike, taking the hit instead.

"Nora! No!" Ren yelled as he reached out to her, but got knocked back by the Paladin too.

Ryu watched in horror as his childhood friends were hit by the massive robots. "Nora... Ren... I cannot allow this!" He shouted, rushing in with Dabilahro, slashing horizontally back and forth, taking the first paladin's legs out from under it, before a downward slash hacked it in half. The next one came at him, but an upward swing took off the mech's right arm and leg, the massive sword pulling Ryu into the air, allowing him to aim it down and drive it into the cockpit. More Paladins were still advancing, however and before Ryu could attack them, a blue of black and gold suddenly slammed into him, vanishing with him into the tree line.

"Ryu!" Dante shouted.

"No!" Kratos shouted, hurrying after Ryu.

Dante was about to follow as well, before looking back to his friends and sister, then to the paladins, trying to decide what he should do.

Fortunately, the decision was made for him as Weiss put a hand on his back. "Go. We'll hold them off here!" She said.

"You sure?" He asked.

She nodded and smiled determinedly. "We'll be fine." She told him.

"Alright. Stay safe. All of you." Dante said, before running after his teammate.

* * *

The figure that had slammed into Ryu came to a stop, Ryu dropping to the ground and rolling a few times, before glaring up at his attacker, his eyes widening in shock and disbelief. "Thought you'd seen the last of me, did you, Hayabusa!" The figure demanded.

"Dio..." Ryu seethed as he got up, looking at the monster he thought he killed on the train. It was indeed, Dio Brando. Or rather, his head, attached to what looked like the body of a Beringel. "How?" He asked.

"Salem's powers are truly incredible. While it doesn't please me to have my beautiful self attached to the body of this monstrosity, it is a far cry from the pits of hell. And, let us not forget you are the reason for the state I now find myself in! So now you will pay for it!" Dio shouted.

"You've already dodged the pits of hell once. I won't allow you to do so again!" Ryu shouted, rushing in and using the Flying Swallow technique in an attempt to decapitate Dio, but The World appeared and blocked the blade.

"Pathetic! You're nothing but prey to me! Time to be devoured!" Dio shouted, The World pulling its fist back, slamming it into Ryu, who managed to block it, but was still sent skidding back several feet, panting decently. (Perfect. It's as the broker told us.) Dio smirked.

Flashback...

"These revived are becoming a problem. They are at the very least our equals. If we can't figure out their weaknesses, they may very well be able to stop us, perhaps even prevent the Fall of Beacon." Azula said.

"The plan cannot be allowed to fail. The Revived cannot be allowed to stop it. We must find out their weaknesses." Medusa agreed.

Dio approached them with his new Beringel body. "And when we find out how to defeat them, I, Dio, shall crush them all under heel like the ants they are!" He roared.

"You're in luck. I found a guy who knows just about everything about just about everyone." Terumi said, placing his Scroll on the table, the villains gathering around.

 _"Hello?"_ Izaya's voice came over the other line.

"And who are you supposed to be? Some master assassin who knows how defeat everyone?" Azula asked.

Izaya chuckled. _"Oh, no. Nothing like that. I'm just a simple information broker."_ He explained.

"I see. Still, information is power, so what information do you have on Team SCRN of Beacon. Any weaknesses in particular?" Medusa demanded.

"Ah, yes. One of my favorite teams. They're all quite powerful. You could spend days looking and be hard pressed to find a weakness for any one of them. However, if you look close enough, you'll still find it." Izaya said ominously.

"Oh, really? Then what have you found?" Dio demanded.

" _Ryu Hayabusa. Easily the fastest and most skilled of the four. Unfortunately, he seems to have the lowest stamina of them all. Drag out a fight for two long and he won't be able to do much more than defend himself. Dante Schnee. He and Bayonetta, or Cereza Xiao Long, are easily tied for being the most unpredictable members of the team. However, his arrogance may often come back to bite him with how often he drops his guard. As for Bayonetta, impressive as she is with that semblance of hers, she tends to over-rely on it. If you had someone who could possibly negate semblances, I'd say she'd be in for a bad time._ " Izaya explained.

"Interesting..." Terumi said.

 _"And lastly, my favorite. The champion of Mistral along with his sister, Kratos Nikos. With strength that can almost surpass any Grimm, but this strength is a double-edged sword, as this extra strength costs him speed and accuracy and when blinded by rage, he gains a one track mind and may be the most predictable fighter you've ever seen. And as long as you can stay out of the way of his attacks, you've basically won."_ The broker finished.

"Really? Well, this has all been very fascinating, but tell me, if you're such big fans of them, why tell us and betray them. Even risk their deaths?" Azula asked.

 _"To see how they'll react. You see, I love humans. Seeing them put in all different kinds of situations is so fascinating. And whatever situation you have planned is sure to be exhilarating. And I can't wait to see what you all do."_ Izaya explained.

Dio grew a wide, menacing smirk at this. "Then prepare for a show." He told the broker.

End Flashback...

"You've reached your limit, Hayabusa! Now, your head will be my trophy!" Dio roared, The World attacking Ryu, who did his best to dodge or counter, but he found himself able to do little more than that.

With the last bit of his strength, Ryu forced The World back and put all of his energy into one last burst, an upward slash cutting deeply into The World and launching it into the air, Ryu flying into the air along with it, before vanishing, reappearing to the side of the Stand and flying past, slicing the construct as he did so, before repeating the action eight more times and reappearing above the golden monster and hacking his sword down on it, slamming it into the ground and cutting it deeply.

The World vanished back to its master and all of the cuts appeared on Dio's body, blood spraying from them and causing Dio to cough up a large amount of blood as well, causing him to growl, before smirking. "One last-ditch effort to attempt to defeat me? Impressive. Your tenacity truly must be admired. But this is the end! I am still alive and you can no longer even stand!" Dio taunted as Ryu was completely out of energy, down on one knee and supporting himself with the Dragon Sword, panting heavily.

"Damn you... Dio..." Ryu cursed.

"This battle is mine!" Dio shouted, sending The World out once again, the golden beast throwing a massive haymaker at Ryu, slamming into his face and sending him flying back, a black ripple over his body indicating his aura was now gone. He skidded back a few feet, coming to a stop, before The World appeared above him and slammed its fist into his stomach, causing him to cough up blood as well. "You truly were an admirable opponent, Ryu Hayabusa. To show my respect, I will not grant you a painless death!" He said, preparing to finish Ryu, before sensing something behind him. "The World!" He announced.

Time froze and Dio turned just in time to see the Blades of Chaos less than an inch from his head. And not too far behind them, Dante was rushing forward with Rebellion. "Well, that could've been a nasty shave. Though, how convenient, you've come to me. Now I no longer have to hunt you-" Dio started, before a glyph suddenly appeared beneath Dante and the Schnee boy began to move again, sliding forward and slamming into Dio. The monster slid back, glaring at Dante. "Damn you! I forgot your glyphs can now even counter The World's power!" He snapped.

"That's right. No time resumes." Dante said.

Time did indeed restart and Kratos charged up beside Dante. "Dio! You've become even more of a monster! Regardless, you shall pay for what you did to Ryu!" He snapped.

Dio growled at this. (Damn. The ninja was able to considerably damage The World. And against these two, my remaining aura surely won't last. I've gotten my revenge for now. That will have to be sufficient.) He thought. "You have more pressing matter to worry about than me! I shall retreat for now, but you will never stop the fall of Beacon!" He declared, flying away with The World.

"Coward!" Kratos snapped.

"He's right, though. We'll worry about him later. You get Ryu back to the others. I'll look for anyone else who needs help." Dante said, hurrying ahead as Kratos collected Ryu and carried him back to the others.

* * *

Bayonetta rushed forward, activating Witch Time. She was going to hit Juri with a flying kick, but she passed through Terumi's barrier, draining her aura and deactivating her semblance, allowing Juri to have time to react and counter the kick, knocking Bayonetta back to Ruby. "Sis!" She shouted, before glaring at them, firing at them with Crescent Rose, but the two dodged the shots as they rushed in, Terumi closing the distance and using his knives to deflect the sniper scythe and allowing Juri to hit Ruby with an energy wave from her leg, knocking her back.

"What are you doing!? Without these ships, the Grimm will destroy everything!" Ruby shouted.

"That's the plan!" Terumi smirked.

Ruby charged, striking at them with Crescent Rose, but both of them masterfully dodged or blocked each attack. Terumi prepared to attack, but Bayonetta came back in and forced him back with her claws, slamming against his butterfly knives and creating a huge ball of electricity that launched him back. Juri started fighting back now, easily pushing Ruby back with her skills, an axe kick pinning Crescent Rose to the ground, allowing Juri to hit Ruby with a jumping kick to the face that nearly sent her careening off the hull of the airship.

Fortunately, Bayonetta wrapped one of her whips around Ruby's leg, catching her younger sister and swinging her around with a wide angle, allowing her to kick Juri in the head and smash Terumi in the face with the back of Crescent Rose. "Dammit! You're gonna regret taking us on! We're gonna take you down and Vale's gonna run red with blood! And we're gonna soak in all that amazing chaos!" Juri said.

"Exactly. And then you can bet we're taking this to every other kingdom on Remnant! And when it's all said and done, we're gonna piss on their corpses!" Terumi laughed.

"I don't care what you say! We will stop them and I will stop you! BET ON THAT!" Ruby screamed in anger and determination.

"The White Fang may be the ones with animal parts, but you two are the real rabid animals. And rabid beasts need to be put down." Bayonetta said.

They rushed in again and Ruby clashed with Terumi, her longer weapon allowing her to stay out of his barrier and out of the range of his knives while she still landed several decent hits against him. Juri and Bayonetta found themselves in the middle of a kicking war, their legs little more than blurs as they repeatedly flew back and forth, high and low, slamming into each other repeated, before Bayonetta dodged Juri's next attack, using Witch Time and sent her back to the edge of the ship.

"Damn you!" Juri snapped, her eye flashing as she spun in circles over and over, sending an onslaught of pink energy waves at Bayonetta, who turned into her panther form, rushing towards Juri and expertly maneuvering around the energy waves and pouncing at Juri, using the Bat swarm to dodge around the last one and behind Juri, returning to her human form and grabbing Juri by the back of her neck and seat of her pants, lifting her up and over her head and throwing her off the side of the airship.

"You thought far too highly of yourself. It was about time someone brought you back down to Earth." Bayonetta told her, but before she could turn back and help Ruby, Juri pulled out her long belt and lashed it out at Bayonetta, wrapping it around her neck. "What?!" She asked, before she fell with Juri.

"Bayonetta!" Ruby screamed, before Terumi's Ouroboros launched out and grabbed her, yanking her in towards the mad man and slamming her on the ground, allowing her to stomp on it.

"You huntsmen and Huntresses! You all deny reality! You deny the truth! You deny the Grimm! They're the bringers of truth in this world! The only real truth in this world! The truth of despair!" He snapped as he stomped on Ruby. "But now, the world can open its eyes and see the truth! And now they can accept the real world! The world of despair!" He shouted.

Just as Terumi prepared his finishing strike, an Alpha Griffon suddenly appeared from the sky and swallowed him whole, attracted by the negativity of his rant. The roar sent Ruby back a few feet, before the two charged at each other. Ruby prevailed when she kicked the beast in the head, sending it through the hull and causing it to crash. And then, she grabbed Crescent Rose, leapt off the falling airship, and propelled herself in the air, shooting at the ground as if her weapon was a pogo-stick, before landing safely on the rooftops of Vale.

As all this was happening, Bayonetta and Juri had locked in mid-air, grabbing each other by the shoulders and kicking each other in the side or punching them in the chest or face. Finally, Juri's eye flashed one more time and Bayonetta charged an electricity ball into her Durga gauntlet, slamming it into Juri's face as she slammed her energy-covered leg into Bayonetta's side, the two separating and their aura's depleting. However, Azula flew in from nowhere and snatched Juri out of the air, the two landing safely on a nearby building. "So long, witch bitch!" Juri laughed evilly.

Bayonetta, however, changed into her bird form, much to the shock of the two villains and even herself, before she managed to fly back to Beacon. She returned to her human form, landing on her hands and knees, before looking to see the airship coming down and Ruby also landing somewhere else on Beacon. "Great job, Ruby. I always knew you could do it, sis." She praised her sister, getting up slowly. "Ugh... I've done all I can. I need to find the others and get out of here." She said, tiredly jogging away.

* * *

Back in the city, Glynda used her riding crop to knock back a few Creeps, while Qrow sliced and blasted at a few infected Knights with his sword. Cardin giddily knocked back an Ursa with his mace, but then got held at gunpoint by a few infected Knights. Suddenly, their heads were shot off, surprising Cardin. As the smoke cleared, it was revealed that General Ironwood miraculously survived his crash, his damaged uniform exposing the right half of his body to be cybernetic. Without hesitation, he shot down all of the infected Knights with his revolver.

"This area's secure! We need to-" Ironwood started. Suddenly, Qrow's expression changed into what appeared to be anger. He transformed his sword into a scythe and charged toward Ironwood. "Qrow! This isn't my doing!" Ironwood said fearfully.

Qrow continued charging, despite Ironwood's words. The general flipped his gun in his hand and got into a battle stance, preparing for the perceived attack. However, Qrow leapt past Ironwood, who turned around just in time to see a large Griffon lunging at him. With one swing of Qrow's scythe, the Griffon was sliced in two. Upon landing, Qrow turned around to address Ironwood.

"You idiot. I know you didn't do this." Qrow scoffed.

Ironwood relaxed and sighed, lowering his head and putting his hand to his forehead, while Glynda placed her hand on his shoulder.

"So what now, General?" Qrow asked.

"Someone's done the impossible and gained control of my machines. And that enormous Grimm seems to be fixated on the school. Glynda, form up the local Huntsmen and establish a safe zone here in Vale. We need to evacuate Beacon. Qrow, I'm leaving that to you and my men. I still need to get to my ship." Ironwood explained.

The three heard a loud noise and turned to see its source: Ironwood's ship slowly nosediving into the ground. "Well, it won't be much of a walk." Qrow joked. The Atlesian Knights that were still functioning attempted one last time to harm the Huntsmen, before powering down.

* * *

In the Beacon courtyard, the students stood prepared to fight the Atlesian Paladin that was charging toward them. However, electricity arced across it and it suddenly powered down, collapsing and sliding to a stop in front of them.

"Hm. That went better than expected." Sun said.

"It seems we've been given a stroke of luck." Kratos said as he carried Ryu back to the others, setting him down with Nora and Ren.

"Ryu!" Nora cried worriedly, holding him close.

"You'll be alright, my friend. Rest for now." Ren told Ryu, placing a hand on his chest.

Weiss doubled over, exhausted, leaning on Myrtenaster to keep herself standing. She then looked to Kratos. "Where's Dante. He was with you." She asked.

"He is looking for any others in need of help." He explained.

"Weiss!" Yang called as she ran to Weiss. "You're okay! Have you heard from Ruby? Or what about Bayonetta?" She asked, but Weiss shook her head. "What about Blake?" She asked.

"She went after an Alpha..." She explained and pointed in the direction that Blake ran. "And some members of the White Fang." She added.

"You look for Ruby and Bayonetta. I'll meet up with Blake." Yang instructed as she hurried off in the direction that Weiss pointed, while the heiress gave a thumbs up.

* * *

In the Beacon vault, an elevator opened up to reveal Ozpin, Jaune, and Pyrrha. The three immediately sprinted out of the elevator and down the corridor.

"What is this place?" Jaune asked.

"It's... a type of vault." Pyrrha explained.

"You've... been here before?" Jaune asked, but Pyrrha looked away from him. "What would this school need to... hide?" He asked again. Finally seeing the Aura transfer machine, Jaune stopped in his tracks, gazing wide-eyed at the strange contraption and the comatose girl inside. "What? Who?" He started.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha started.

"Pyrrha! Get to the pods!" Ozpin ordered. Pyrrha looked at Jaune, then walked closer to Ozpin

"Mister Arc, if you'd like to help, you can stand guard here." Ozpin instructed.

Jaune looked at the two with uncertainty, then turned around and got into a guarding stance. Pyrrha walked up beside Ozpin, looking down sadly, before looking back at the teacher determinedly. "Professor Ozpin, I'm sorry, but I can't go through with this. I can't risk no longer being the person I am now." She explained.

Ozpin sighed, but nodded. "Very well. I set up an emergency escape system. But it will take a few moments. Assist Jaune in guarding this room until then." He instructed.

Pyrrha nodded and took her spot beside Jaune, smiling.

* * *

"This could've been our day! Can't you see that!?" Adam snapped as he fought against Blake.

"I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" Blake countered as she raised her sword, its blade folding into sickle mode and shot at Adam, who blocked both bullets with his sword.

"What you want is impossible!" He snapped as he sheathed his sword and backhanded Blake across her face, knocking her over. "But I understand because all I want is you, Blake. At least, at one point I did. But now I have to thank you, because when you hurt me, I knew love was simply just another useless thing that can hurt you. Just like humans." He said. She began to raise her sickle again, only for him to kick it out of her hand, knocking her over once again. "So now I can focus on the most important thing: making the humans pay for everything they've done to us. But if you try to stop me from delivering the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love." He warned.

"Blake!" Yang's voice drew their attention to one of the broken windows. Yang herself soon came into view and shot a White Fang member, before looking around for her teammate. "Blake! Where are you!?" She called out.

Adam looked at Blake to see her terrified expression, then returned his gaze to Yang. "Starting with her." He said.

* * *

As they stood facing the entrance, Jaune looked to Pyrrha. "So... Exactly how long have you known about this?" He asked.

"Not long. A day at most." She explained.

"Why wouldn't you tell us about something like this? Does Kratos even know?" He asked.

Pyrrha sighed at this. "Kratos is a whole different story. For now, I'll just say it was a secret the world isn't ready for. I wasn't ready for it." She said. Suddenly, the elevator came down and a smirking Cinder stepped out of it. "Professor!" Pyrrha cried.

"Try to hold her off! I'm almost finished!" Ozpin instructed.

Pyrrha and Jaune both rushed in, Cinder separating her bow into swords and deflecting their attacks, managing to kick Jaune away with relative ease, putting more pressure on Pyrrha, before finally managing to knock her away as well. She then reconnected her blades into her bow, drawing an arrow and firing it. Pyrrha tried to destroy the arrow with her shield, but the arrow unbelievably split itself into thousands of tiny shards, going around the shield and reforming behind it, flying forward without losing any momentum.

The arrow pierced the glass of Amber's pod, striking her in the chest. Amber gasped and her eyes opened, then began to close again, while the machine began beeping an alarm. Ozpin and turned and glared furiously at Cinder. She lowered the bow, a tiny smirk creeping across her face.

* * *

Adam drew his sword and stabbed it into Blake's abdomen near her left hip, causing her to shriek in pain. The cry caught Yang's attention. "Huh?" She acknowledged the sound as Adam stands upright, pulling his sword from Blake's flesh and turning to face Yang. "Get away from her!" Yang demanded.

"No... please..." Blake pleaded quietly, reaching out helplessly.

Adam sheathed his sword, smiling. Yang screamed, her eyes turning red and a burst of flame erupting from her. She leapt at Adam, drawing her fist back with tears in her eyes. Adam swiftly drew his sword, swinging it through the air at Yang as his Semblance activated. As Yang flew through the air, the lower half of her right arm separated from her. Yang flew through the air, beginning to lose consciousness, with glowing yellow Aura splattering out from her wound. She landed on the floor and laid there on her side, completely still.

Adam slowly walked toward Yang's unconscious body and swung his sword out to the side, casting blood from its blade. Before he could reach her, Blake threw herself between them, giving him a determined stare.

"Why must you hurt me, Blake?" Adam asked, frowning. He raised his sword to try and decapitate his former lover, but suddenly gunshots rang out and Adam turned to block the bullets with his sword, looking over the blade to see Dante aiming Ebony and Ivory at him.

"Dante!" Blake called out.

"A Schnee..." Adam said in a low, seething tone, trembling with rage.

"Blake, get Yang out of here. I'll take care of this guy." Dante said walking forward as Adam approached him as well.

"Dante, no! He's too dangerous!" Blake cried out.

"Yang's in more danger right now. She needs help, so go. I won't be too far behind." Dante told her. Blake looked between them worriedly, before complying and half-dragging Yang away. "So, you're Adam. Blake's told us a good bit about you. You're quite the piece of work." Dante said.

Adam scoffed. "How rich, coming from a Schnee, one of the biggest reasons Faunus are suffering in this world." He countered.

Dante shrugged at this. "Not gonna lie, my old man's kind of a dick. He only has money on his mind, not the people. If me or Weiss take over the company, we're gonna change things." He said.

"No matter what you do, the Schnee name will only mean subjugation and cruelty to the Faunus." Adam said.

"Coming from the guy who just tried to kill a Faunus, but was stopped by a Schnee? That's rich." Dante said.

Adam rushed in and the two locked blades. "You don't know anything! All you do is use our people for cheap labor and constantly risk their lives in your Dust mines! And you support groups that discriminate against the Faunus! You are the reason humans and faunus will always be enemies!" He shouted.

"Our father is the one who treats the Faunus like animals! But you're proving his point by acting like nothing but animals! And you're here destroying one of the places that proves you wrong! Humans AND faunus both attended this school! They lived together, worked together, ate together! They were friends! Proof faunus and humans could be more than enemies! And you've ruined all that!" Dante countered.

The two lashed out with their blades, countering each other blow for blow. Adam was fierce, but Dante was so used to fighting Vergil in his last life, this was like fighting a pale imitation. Dante deflected Adam's next attack, hitting him with several attacks of his own, and launching him back with Stinger. Adam brought himself to a stop with his sword, but then realized his mask was cracked, which quickly spread throughout the entire mask, before it shattered, revealing his face... And the brand across his left eye, reading three letters that left Dante shocked to the core: SDC. Schnee. Dust. Company.

"Jacques... What have you done?!" Dante growled quietly to himself, unable to even call the business man his father.

"So now you see. The real evil that has been committed in your name. And the reason your lineage must die for Faunus to ever be safe." Adam said.

"I told you. My father's the reason that happened to you. He's the monster, but one day he won't be calling the shots anymore. But if you keep this up, you'll be the monster and he'll have countless reasons to justify his actions. The reason the faunus treatment is getting worse is because of you." Dante told the bull faunus.

"Shut up!" He shouted, rushing towards Dante, his rage completely blinding him as Dante created a glyph underneath him and swung his sword, sending a wave of energy that Adam had no time to react to, slamming into the terrorist and flinging him back. He tried to get up, but found Dante above him with his sword at his throat.

"If I was as bad as you make me out to be, I'd kill you right here. But I'm not. The Schnee name definitely has a lot to answer for. And in time, we will. And we'll make things right. But you and the faunus have to do your part, too. How will people ever see you as more than animals if all you ever do is bare your fangs at them?" He asked, before taking off, leaving Adam questioning everything.

* * *

Amber struggled to breathe, her eyes wide, the machine's alarm still playing. Finally, all breath left her. Her eyes drifted closed and her head leaned to the side, her whole body going limp. The green flames that lit the torches throughout the vault suddenly snuffed out.

An orange glow then surrounded Amber, before bursting out of her, shattering the glass in its way and entering Cinder. The murderer glowed, began floating and gained long trails of flame around her eyes, with orange energy swirling around her. All this time, Pyrrha could only stand their, shocked. Jaune, however, raised his sword and charged toward Cinder.

"Stay back!" Ozpin ordered, but to no avail. Cinder casted a large fireball toward Jaune, who blocked it with his shield and was blasted backwards, landing on his back.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha screamed, before using her Semblance to rip the pod's door off its hinges, throwing it at Cinder, who knocked it away like it's nothing. As Cinder began to descend to the floor, Pyrrha the charged at the murderer, calling her weapon and shield to her with her Semblance. However, Ozpin put his arm out, stopping her.

"Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda! Ironwood! Qrow! Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall!" Ozpin ordered.

"But I can help." Pyrrha offered.

Ozpin slowly turned his head to stare Pyrrha in the eyes. "You'll only get in the way." He told her.

Pyrrha hesitated for a moment but obeyed Ozpin, scooping up Jaune and running away. While she did so, Cinder descended to the floor and watched them leave, with the glow, the swirling energy and the flames around her eyes all disappearing. Cinder turned her attention back to Ozpin, her eyes still glowing for a moment.

"This whole time... right beneath our feet. She was right about you." Cinder spoke as Ozpin turned his cane in his grip, staring hard at Cinder.

"Such arrogance." She taunted, shaking her head slightly.

The camera zoomed in with a close up on their faces before panning upwards to a bird's eye view of the standoff, before everything went black.

* * *

 **A/N: And another chapter done. We're coming to the climax real fast now! I hope you all enjoyed this. I did have more for the fights between Team SCRN and the villains, but sadly, I forgot the original ideas I had and the new stuff would've made the chapter far too long, but still, I think it came out well. Terumi may have went out in a disappointing way, the same as Torchwick, but really that's all he was meant to be, a more evil Torchwick that was more with Salem's plan than self-preservation. Just another psycho wanting to destroy the world, really.**

 **But let me know what you think and get ready for the dramatic conclusion of Volume 3.**


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